Measuring and keeping time
At the root of all cultures is a need to organise the immediate
and more distant future in order to survive. One of the most
fundamental ways of doing this is through the observation of
natural phenomena such as the seasons and the ensuing animal
migration and the movement of the sun, moon and stars.
The seasons
For prehistoric people, autumnal reindeer migration was an
important time in their calendar. Not only were the reindeer at
their fattest and with their thickest coats, but they also had to
cross rivers, which made them easier to hunt.
This small mammoth tusk carving was made almost 13,500 years
ago, during the Ice Age, and shows two swimming reindeer. The
smaller female at the front is wearing the distinctive autumn coat,
shown through delicate carved strokes. Such objects indicate the
awareness of the cycles of time that were vital for this
community’s survival.
This awareness of the seasons can be found in all cultures
throughout history. Many tribes of the North American Plains kept a
rec
ord of their history through ‘winter counts’. These were a
series of pictures, each representing the most important event of a
given year. This cloth records 119 years between 1785 and
1901.
Establishing our place in time
Once a society has met its immediate needs of food, shelter and
clothing, it usually attempts to place itself within a sequence of
time based on a historical or mythical date. There could be
several reasons for this, such as establishing a dynastic lineage
or justifying one’s position through a link to the past.
For example, the AD date around which much of the modern world
is structured is actually not based upon a specific historical
date: the date of the birth of Christ cannot be pinpointed
precisely. All time structures, such as calendars, are simply an
agreement between those who live by it.
For centuries, Christian societies followed the calendar set by
the Church. Frequently, saints’ days became the markers for certain
events and these were widely referred to by the whole of society.
People in Britain, for example, paid their taxes on ‘Lady’s Day’
each year (25 March).
Genealogies are also a way of creating a recognisable structure,
both for the past and the future. For the Maori in New Zealand
(Aoteroa), links to one’s ancestors are the means of integrating
the past with the present and the future. The whakapapa, or
genealogical staff, prove the status of the owner by recording
eighteen of their ancestors through carved notches.
Keeping time
Clocks are one of many ways of indicating time, but for many
cultures other objects are more relevant for measuring it
according
to their needs.
These needs might be, for example, prayer times, either Islamic
or monastic.
Islamic prayers are performed at certain moments during dawn and
dusk, and when the shadows reach a certain length. Astrolabe
quadrants were one of many types of instrument used to observe
these phenomena in the past, through measuring the height of the
sun. Nowadays this is calculated by computer.
Practically every aspect of modern life is based around time,
even if we as individuals are unaware of this.
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