First discovered in the Himalayas back in the 1960’s, the carving has been dated back to approximately 5,000 years, seemingly depicting a traditional hunting scene with tribesmen chasing a bull with a bow and spear while 2 ‘suns’ seem to be present in the sky.
Now, by looking back at astronomical events which may have been visible to the creators of the art, Indian astrophysicist Mayank Vahia and his team of researchers have put forward a new theory that the second sun may actually be a supernova.
More than that, incredibly, the researchers believe the animal carvings may actually be star constellations.
“The whole hunting scene… fits quite well into the pattern of stars in the sky,” Vahia wrote.
“The image of one of the hunters coincides with the Orion; the central stag is same as the Taurus. The hunter on the right may have been formed from stars of Cetus and other animal on the right may be Andromeda and Pegasus. The long, curved line in the carving, traditionally interpreted as spear, may well be an arc of bright stars.”
Astrophysicist Mayank Vahia & @TIFRScience colleagues believe a rock painting from 3600 BC. found in the Kashmir region is the oldest record of a supernova and likely the oldest sky chart ever drawn. https://t.co/2a2UoAlbyC#MondayMotivation#SuperNova pic.twitter.com/DlccrAUSrB
— Cynthia Green (@HistThruModEyes) January 8, 2018
