Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 May 1902 — Primitive Chronology. [ARTICLE]

Primitive Chronology.

The most primitive method In chronology la that which enables man to otlent himself in the world of time by associating paitlctilar lunations with vicissitudes of weather, with seasonal aspects of vegetation and with the constantly changing sights and sounds of the animal world. In the calendar of the Crees, for example, we find such designations as “duck month.” “frog moon,” “leaf moon,” “berries ripe month,” “buffalo rutting moon,” “leaves entirely changed,” “leaves In the trees,” “fish catching moon,” “moon that strikes the earth cold,” "coldest moon,” “Ice thawing moon” and "eagles seen moon.” So In the calendars of Central America and Mexico the months are named variously after the arrival of birds, the blossoming of Howers, the blowing of winds, the return of mosquitoes and the appearance of fishes. The Greeks constantly used the movements of birds to mark the seasons. The arrival of the swallow and kite was thus noted. Hesiod tells us how the cry of the crane signaled the departure of winter, while the setting of the Pleiades gave notice to the plowman when to begin his work.