I don't deny the religious significance or the intellectual. Both were incredibly important to our social development. Does any subsisitence farmer need to know the name of the month, how many days it has and if it's a leap year?

I get so fed up with people telling us that the ancients had to consult stone circles before knowing when to plant their crops or slaughter their livestock. Today, we are obsessed with time and cannot do anything without consulting our watch, diary and schedule. Get in touch with the natural rhythms of the earth and see when the wild plants put out green leaves and the first flowers - that tells you much more about when to sow than any stone circle ever can.