Counting Time With Tübatulabal

An exploration of a village site and a stunning pictograph calendar in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Prehistoric methods of marking time include using a bundle of a predetermined number of sticks from which one stick is removed each day until the bundle is empty. That would mark a significant day of the year, like an equinox for sample, when the people need to take important action like migrate. Another method would be to cut notches on a long stick. Another method could be to create a painting on a rock surface with notch marks pre-painted along a line, and let the edge of a huge boulder create a sun shadow that ticks off each day.