Like innumerable peoples before them, pre-Columbian Native American tribes practiced a form of sacred architecture for ritualistic purposes. Unlike the Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge, these monuments didn’t require herculean feats of strength to construct. They were, however, enormously complex.

Across the Great Plains of Canada and North America, there are more than fifty surviving examples of these ancient Americans’ giant stone circles – today known as “medicine wheels” for their supposed healing properties. Due to their nomadic nature, tribes would construct the peculiar rings next to their camps, and then abandon them after a few seasons. Different builders employed different techniques and, consequently, medicine wheels range in size from only a few feet to 60 yards across.

The most impressive example such a circle lies some 10,000 feet above sea level at the summit of Medicine Mountain in Wyoming. Though it has always been presumed the wheels were used for some sort of spiritual purpose, the 28-spoked Big Horn Medicine Wheel is one of the few that also bears an astronomical alignment. Not only did the 25-yard circle mark the ascent of the four brightest summer stars – Sirius, Fomalhaut, Aldebaran, and Rigel – but the beginning of the summer solstice as well and possibly even served a daily calendar. (Unfortunately for its builders, the Big Horn Wheel was unable to do the same in the winter, as it would have been buried under snow.) Originally built by the Crow people, it is currently supposed that the site was in use from at least 1200 AD onwards.

Due their loose construction and centuries of exposure to the elements, only a handful of medicine wheels can definitively classified as astronomical observatories today (though the distinct possibility that some may have acted solely as ceremonial centers remains.) Saskatchewan’s Moose Mountain Medicine Wheel is one of those select few, and displays solstice alignments every bit as striking as those at Big Horn. Moreover, radiocarbon dating indicates that it is at least 2400 years old — evidence that early North Americans may have been more technologically sophisticated that previously thought.

Though their true origins have lost (one tribe holds that they were built by “people who had no iron”), medicine wheels continue to be constructed by Native Americans today to demarcate sacred sites, such ceremonial teepees and sweat lodges. The old sites too are still held in reverence by an array of tribal peoples and can often be found adorned prayer offerings to this day.

Old West Store History DVDs Replica Guns Replica Swords Scale Model Kits

History Collectors: We offer a wide selection of museum quality replicas and authentic items representing nearly every century of the Common Era and the most significant civilizations of ancient history. Once you browse through our online catalogue, we are certain you’ll find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one with an interest in history.

Tags: 1200 A.D., Aldebaran, ancient astronomical observatories, ancient rituals, Big Horn Wheel, ceremonial centers, Crow Indians, Fomalhaut, great pyramids of giza, History DVDs, medicine mountain, medicine wheels, Native Americans, Old West Store, pre-Columbian Native American tribes, replica guns, Replica Swords, Rigel, sacred architecture, Saskatchewan’s Moose Mountain Medicine Wheel, scale model kits, Sirius, stonehenge, summer solstice, wyoming