Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1901 — Primitive chronology. [ARTICLE]

Primitive chronology.

The. moat primitive method In chronology is that which enables nmu to 0.-lenr himself In the worldof time by associating particular 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 ngmed variously after the arrival of birds, the blossoinlng of flowers, 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.