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A Brief Introduction to Archaeoastronomy
· Did the Megalith Builders of Stonehenge incorporate an eclipse prediction system into the design of this fascinating structure 5000 years ago?
· How did prehistoric Polynesian navigators use the stars to discover the Pacific islands without clocks or scientific instruments?
· Do the enigmatic lines and immense ground drawings of Nazca on the bone-dry desert pampa of southern Peru have anything to do with ancient Andean constellations, calendars or astronomical alignments?
· How have contemporary Maya calendar keepers managed to maintain the essentials of the ancient 260-day Sacred Almanac... and what do they use it for today?
The study of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, mythologies, religions and world-views of all ancient cultures we call archaeoastronomy. We like to describe archaeoastronomy, in essence, as the "anthropology of astronomy", to distinguish it from the "history of astronomy". You may already know that many of the great monuments and ceremonial constructions of early civilizations were astronomically aligned. The accurate cardinal orientation of the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt or the Venus alignment of the magnificent Maya Palace of the Governor at Uxmal in Yucatan are outstanding examples. We learn much about the development of science and cosmological thought from the study of both the ancient astronomies and surviving indigenous traditions around the world.
With its roots in the Stonehenge discoveries of the 1960s, Archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy, the study of contemporary native astronomies, have blossomed into active interdisciplinary fields that are providing new perspectives for the history of our species' interaction with the cosmos. One hallmark of the new research is active cooperation between professionals and amateurs from many backgrounds and cultures. The benefit of this cooperation has been that archaeoastronomy has expanded to include the interrelated interests in ancient and native calendar systems, concepts of time and space, mathematics, counting systems and geometry, surveying and navigational techniques as well as geomancy and the origins of urban planning. We feel the excitement of the synergy that results when the new syntheses are more than the sum of their parts. Our subject is essentially a study of the Anthropology of Astronomy and world-view... the role of astronomy and astronomers in their cultures.
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