"Even sticks and stones have a spiritual essence, a manifestation of the mysterious power that fills the Universe."
Sioux Proverb
Medicine Wheels
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Bighorn Medicine Wheel, Wyoming
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Medicine wheels, sacred hoops, and holy circles are some of the names commonly given to these
round structures that were built out of stones by the natives of the North American
Great Plains.
These sites seem to have been created with spiritual, ceremonial,
and astronomical significance. Some sites are ancient, having been dated as more than 4,500 years old.
Medicine wheels are located primarily in South Dakota,
Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The greatest majority are in Alberta, Canada. More than
70 medicine wheels have been found so far.
The most famous medicine wheel is in the Bighorn National Forest in Big Horn County,
Wyoming at an elevation of 9,642 feet.
The Bighorn Medicine Wheel has 28 spokes that extend out from a central cairn.
It is 75 feet in diameter and has smaller stone cairns on the cirumference.
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There is a lot of variation in the construction of the wheels.
For instance there is no set number of spokes. Some wheels have one spoke that is longer than the rest,
with apparent astronomical significance in the direction it points.
With some wheels the spokes start from the center cairn and go just to the outer
ring, but with some they go out past the outer ring.
Some wheels have spokes that start at the outer ring and radiate out from there.
In 1977 an astronomer named John Eddy from the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for
Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado
proposed that some of the wheels had astronomical alignments. Dr. Eddy suggested that some wheels had
spokes pointing to certain stars at certain times of the year, and otherwise
marked specific days of the year like the solstices.
The importance of the solstices and equinoxes to
ancient people is well accepted but the total extent of astronomical influence on the construction
of medicine wheels remains a matter of debate. This is because the huge number of celestial objects and events
makes coincidental alignments probable. A rough definition of what constitutes "alignment" increases
the likelyhood
of coincidence. In general, the builder's intent may represent a combination of the celestial and the worldly.
Some tribal elders today say that the structures were always intended to tie the sky and the earth
together.
Photograph by Steve Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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