The Mystery of Medicine Wheels
Friday May 23, 2008 8:32 AM
Sacred sites... spiritual tools... magical circles... astronomical observatories. These are some of the purposes ascribed to dozens of ancient stone circles called medicine wheels that dot North America, left behind by early Plains Indians. The truth of the matter is, however, that no one really knows why those people built stone circles.
Even the term "medicine wheel" is modern. No one knows what name they were given by their builders. Little archaeological or cultural lore exists to shed definitive light on medicine wheels, some of which are at least 2,000 years old.
Little also is known about the early Plains tribes, who led a nomadic life and built no lasting habitats or structures. They lived only a few seasons in any one spot. When they moved to new locations, they left behind small stone circles, which apparently were used for anchoring tipis, and mysterious large circles now called medicine wheels.
The remains of several hundred medicine wheels are scattered across the Plains, mostly in Canada and some in the United States. Sizes and patterns vary, ranging from a few feet to 60 yards in diameter. They are comprised of loaf-sized stones laid out in circles around a central cairn of rocks. Some cairns measure three to four yards high by 10 yards wide, requiring tons of rocks. Some medicine wheels have additional cairns built along the perimeter, or smaller rock circles built outside the main circle. Some wheels have spokes connecting the rim to the central cairn.
The most spectacular is the 80-foot-wide Bighorn Medicine Wheel, located at the 10,000-foot summit of Medicine Mountain in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming (shown in photo). The central cairn is 10 feet wide and is attached to the perimeter by 28 stone spokes. The wheel has six peripheral cairns. The estimated age of the wheel is 100-220 years old, based on an analysis of a tree limb found in one of the cairns.
At the turn of the 20th century, local Cheyenne interviewed professed to know nothing of the wheel's builders, except that it was "made by people who had no iron," meaning that it was very old. The wheel was recognized as a holy site.
In 1972, astronomer John Eddy determined that the Bighorn circle may have served astronomical purposes, with the spokes representing the 28-day lunar calendar. But others he investigated did not bear out the same. Many were too disturbed for measurements; others that were intact seemed to have been built for other, unknown purposes.
The Moose Mountain Medicine Wheel in southern Saskatchewan displays dramatic summer solstice alignments like Bighorn. Chunks of charcoal from the central cairn were radiocarbon-dated to around 440 B.C.E.
In modern usage, the medicine wheel is a popular vehicle for medicine power, protection and spiritual growth. The wheel is constructed according to ritual, marked with the cardinal points and consecrated to the spirits. It is used for ceremonial purposes.
