Monday, March 17, 2008

THE PERALTA STONE MAP - THE WITCH STONE (part III)

The Priest (Witch) Stone


• On the left side of this composition is a complex figure in a long pointed ("witch") hat with a band across it, in a cape or robe with sleeves, with a cross on the right shoulder/sleeve, holding a cross outright, right hand in front of the left hand. The lower torso and legs of this figure appear to represent a stack of blocks, a foundation, or a pedestal. (*Suspicion: though there are likely to be dozens of pronounced pointy landmarks in the area, this figure's hat reminds me of the Weaver's Needle). (*Suspicion: if this figure is meant to portray a witch (Spanish brujo/a), perhaps it is a play on the word brújula "compass.")

Here's an image of a cairn by Richard Robinson - something like this may be what the "witch" figure refers to.

• At the base of this figure, on the bottom "block" are inscriptions. The only portion I can read (from the photos I used create this illustration) is the number 1847. Perhaps this is a date, perhaps not. This number is also repeated on the "Heart Stone."

• Beneath the cross in the hands of the "witch" is a series of associated signs that create a curving line from the head of the cross to a set of letters and numbers near the bottom of the composition. A curved line ) appears to come from the head of the cross, followed below it by a ring O, followed to the left by a rectangle with a cross in it (which looks like a reference to the back side of the Heart Stone), followed to the left by another curved line (, followed below by another ring O, followed below and to the right by a heart with either a cross or a number 4 within the heart (which may be a portrayal of the Stone Heart). (*Suspicion: at least part of this sequence may be instructions on how to fit the Stone Heart into the heart-shaped recess in the Heart Stone (see below); given that the Heart Stone has a few different holes in it, maybe these rings O and even the cross represent some now lost elements that also (physically) fit into this piece of the map.)

• Beneath this series of signs is the sequence 8-N-P or possibly B-N-P.

• The text in the middle and upper right of the tablet says ESTA BEREDA ES PELIGROZA or Esta vereda es peligrosa "this path is dangerous." The second line reads YO BOY 18 LUGARES or Yo voy (a) 18 lugares "I go (to) 18 places/locations." The third line BUSCA EL MAPA "seek the map." This is where an amateur making a fake could have made an easy mistake, by saying la mapa instead of el mapa. And the final line, BUSCA EL COAZON [sic] or busca el corazón "seek the heart." This conjugation of the Spanish word buscar "to search for, to seek" is a command form - busca "(you must) seek." Though in this text we see a substitution of B for what is usually V in modern Spanish, (based on my own experience with Colonial Mexican documents) it is not uncommon to see this (semiliterate) spelling variation for the sound /v/, which is pronounced like a /b/ in many Spanish dialects; variation in the usage of S and Z is also common. The misspelling of corazón may be an understandable typo - once the A was rendered, looking similar to an R, the author had overlooked the R and moved-on to the Z.

• Below the word COAZON is an image of a heart with what appears to be an arrow pointing up to the word COAZON. To the left of the heart is a Ω-like sign that also appears on the Horse Stone and the Stone Heart. To the right of the stone is a faint/blurred __M sign. Not included in this illustration is a blurred area to the right of the text, which may be the area where the names "Pedro" and "Miguel" are inscribed (the photos I used to make this illustration are quite blurry in this area).

• *Overall suspicions: this tablet refers to the assembly of the map (the Stone Heart set into the Heart Stone). The text tells us that "The path is dangerous, I go to 18 locations, seek the map, seek the heart." The idea of going to 18 locations could mean many things, however on the combined Stone Heart-Heart Stone-Trail Map (see below) there appears to be 18 evenly-spaced trail markers along the trail to the treasure (see below), perhaps this "witch figure" represents a cairn trail marker - which would explain the "pedestal" appearance of the bottom half of the figure.

3 comments:

James Sieglitz said...

This should really be Part II. This Priest Stone identifies the beginning of the gold trail to the north.

The stones contain all of the elements of a map, i.e., legend, scale and north pointer.

The first issue is what is the priest standing on? Most people respond that it is an altar. What self respecting priest would stand on an altar? Remember, the Spanish Inquisition is still going on.

Look closely and you'll seen ramps running up the side. It's a tower like the Tower of Babel. The Tower was dedicated to Babel or Ba'al to the Canaanites. Cananea is a female Canaanite. At the time the town didn't exist. The area was named by the Apache.

The second issue is what appears to be a cross in the priests hand. No self respecting priest would hold the cross of Jesus in such a manner. Especially a Jesuit.

The item is a Cross or Jacob's Staff, used by navigators, astronomers and cartographers to find latitude by sighting on a known star like Polaris or the sun.

There are several other symbols, the most important is the one that looks like Omega. This symbol has two meanings, First is the "essence" or the most significant element - such as GOLD. The second meaning is "dove" and the place of doves as named by Fray Eusebio Kino is Palominas, which still exists in southeastern Arizona on the San Pedro River. Thus the meaning of the "PEDRO" found on the stone.

This stone identifies the beginning, i.e., Palominas on the San Pedro in the land of Cananea.

Jim Hatt said...

Dear Dr. King, You bring up some very interesting points (from an objective point of view) that I would like to discuss with you in more detail privately. I have searched the entire page and cannot find an e-mail link to contact you directly. Please send me an e-mail: arizona_drifter@yahoo.com
Thank You

david_muise said...

I have found the priest that is depicted on the stone map. it is excatly as shown on the map and can be easily seen from weaver's needle. I can show you where if your interested?