The Klamath River Petroglyph Boulder is deciphered below by us as a sky map of the stars ca. 3000 B.C. with the ends of the boulder marking the Summer and Winter Solstices respectively and the middles of the sides marking the Vernal and Autumn Equinoxes respectively. We think this boulder is one of the oldest of this type of marked megalith in Native America.
The Klamath River megalith marks stars via figures and cupmarks viz. cupules.
The erroneous Shasta Rain Rock label came from somebody's idea somewhere along the line that all the many cupules on the top of the stone were meant to collect rain for some kind of rain ritual or similar, but of course, there are also cupules on the sides of the rock as well, where no rain can be collected.
Decipherment of the Klamath River Petroglyph Boulder viz. Megalith
(aka as the Shasta Rain Rock, originally called the Gottville Boulder)
As one can see from the above decipherment of opposite sides of the Klamath River Petroglyph Boulder, the figures and cupules viz. cupmarks mark stars of the heavens, indeed, in such a manner that the Solstices in ca. 3000 B.C. are located at the longer ends of the megalith and the Equinoxes in the middle of the sides.
One side of the megalith marks the stars from Hydra and Leo at the Summer Solstice ca. 3000 B.C. to the elongated end stars of Pegasus at the Winter Solstice point at ca. the star Enif.
The other side of the megalith marks the stars from Corvus and Crater below the Leo and just above Hydra, to Aquila just after Pegasus.
In other words, the figures and cupmarks "circulate" around the stone marking the stars of the sky.
The top of the Klamath River Petroglyph Boulder viz. Megalith marks stars toward and at the center of the northern sky, clearly including the North Celestial Pole, the North Ecliptic Pole and perhaps also the North Galactic Pole, though this latter is speculative.
The Vernal Equinox side of the Klamath River megalith shows a man and a woman at that Spring Equinox, one on each side, with another figure -- apparently a shaman in appropriate dress as Gemini -- to the left of the female figure, plus a smaller figure at Aries, perhaps a child, to the right of the male figure.
The shaman's headgear reminds of Scandinavian shaman styles, with the two-eared hat presumably originating via the ancient shamans wearing headgear made of the fur of small animals.
THIS POSTING IS Posting Number 118 of
The Great Mound, Petroglyph and Painted Rock Art Journey of Native America
The Klamath River Petroglyph Boulder viz. Megalith Found on the Oregon and California Border aka Shasta Rain Rock or Gottville Boulder is a Sky Map ca. 3000 B.C.