Advancing Cultural Astronomy
Advancing Cultural Astronomy

Author: Efrosyni Boutsikas

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-04-08

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 3030646068

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This collection of essays on cultural astronomy celebrates the life and work of Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at Leicester University. Taking their lead from Ruggles’ work, the papers present new research focused on three core themes in cultural astronomy: methodology, case studies, and heritage. Through this framework, they show how the study of cultural astronomy has evolved over time and share new ideas to continue advancing the field. Ruggles’ work in these areas has had a profound impact on the way that scholars approach evidence of the role of sky in both ancient and modern cultures. While the papers span many time periods and regions, they are closely connected by these three major themes, presenting methodological investigations of how we can approach archaeological, textual, and ethnographic evidence; describing detailed archaeoastronomical case studies; or stressing the importance of global heritage management. This work will appeal to researchers and scholars interested in the history and development of cultural astronomy.

Astronomy Across Cultures
Astronomy Across Cultures

Author: Helaine Selin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 678

ISBN-13: 9401141797

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Astronomy Across Cultures: A History of Non-Western Astronomy consists of essays dealing with the astronomical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Polynesian, Egyptian and Tibetan astronomy, among others, the book includes essays on Sky Tales and Why We Tell Them and Astronomy and Prehistory, and Astronomy and Astrology. The essays address the connections between science and culture and relate astronomical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.

Cultural Astronomy In Latin America
Cultural Astronomy In Latin America

Author: Steven Gullberg

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2024-02-06

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 9811281947

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This book provides a unique view of Astronomy in Culture, Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy involving ancient civilizations in Latin America, emphasizing scientific and cultural knowledge combined with historical, cognitive, archaeological and anthropological aspects. Topics covered in the book include different associations of ancient civilizations with the stars and planets, whether in farming, architecture, social organization, beliefs, myths, religion, metric systems, calendar construction, shrines, and variations in astronomical research methods based on the types of material evidence available. Special attention is paid to the war cycles associated with observed celestial events, day-counting calendars, including movements in the sky and written evidences from codices, and in particular the Andean and Inca traditions of astronomically associated shrines, caves and celestial alignments of monuments and temples.

Astronomy of Ancient Egypt
Astronomy of Ancient Egypt

Author: Juan Antonio Belmonte

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-04-03

Total Pages: 619

ISBN-13: 3031118294

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This book is a comprehensive reference on ancient Egyptian astronomy, one of the most important topics in historical astronomy. Written by two recognized specialists—one an astronomer trained in Egyptology and the other an Egyptologist trained in astronomy—it synthesizes and analyses the international body of research surrounding this ancient culture. The chapters in this work address all major topics in the field, including Egyptian cosmogony and worldview, timekeeping devices and calendars, landscapes and skyscapes, astronomy-influenced architecture, chronology and more. Each chapter includes an introduction, an overview of the existing documentation on the subject, a critical discussion of ongoing debates and questions, and a presentation of state-of-the-art research. Straddling the line between Egyptology and astronomy, this multidisciplinary book will appeal to any scholar or specialist interested in studying ancient Egyptian astronomy.

Essays on Astronomical History and Heritage
Essays on Astronomical History and Heritage

Author: Steven Gullberg

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-08-14

Total Pages: 722

ISBN-13: 3031294939

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This multidisciplinary work celebrates Wayne Orchiston's career and accomplishments in historical and cultural astronomy on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Over thirty of the world’s leading scholars in astronomy, astrophysics, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy have come together to honor Wayne across a wide range of research topics. These themes include: • Astronomy and Society • Emergence of Astrophysics • History of Radio Astronomy • Solar System • Observatories and Instrumentation • Ethnoastronomy and Archeoastronomy This exceptional collection of essays presents an overview of Wayne’s prolific contributions to the field, along with detailed accounts of the book’s diverse themes. It is a valuable and insightful volume for both researchers and others interested in the fields of historical astronomy and cultural astronomy.

First Knowledges Astronomy
First Knowledges Astronomy

Author: Karlie Noon

Publisher: Thames & Hudson Australia

Published: 2022-04-26

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1760762172

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What do you need to know to prosper for 65,000 years or more? The First Knowledges series provides a deeper understanding of the expertise and ingenuity of Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest scientists in human history. Many First Peoples regard the land as a reflection of the sky and the sky a reflection of the land. Sophisticated astronomical expertise embedded within the Dreaming and Songlines is interwoven into a deep understanding of changes on the land, such as weather patterns and seasonal shifts, that are integral to knowledges of time, food availability, and ceremony. In Astronomy: Sky Country, Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli explore the connections between Aboriginal environmental and cultural practices and the behaviour of the stars, and consider what must be done to sustain our dark skies, and the information they hold, into the future.

Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology
Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology

Author:

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024-03-12

Total Pages: 1329

ISBN-13: 0192649310

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Cognitive Archaeology is a relatively young though fast growing discipline. The intellectual heart of cognitive archaeology is archaeology, the discipline that investigates the only direct evidence of the actions and decisions of prehistoric people. Its theories and methods are an eclectic mix of psychological, neuroscientific, paleoneurological, philosophical, anthropological, ethnographic, comparative, aesthetic, and experimental theories, methods, and models, united only by their focus on cognition. The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology is a landmark publication, showcasing the theories, methods, and accomplishments of archaeologists who investigate the human mind, including its evolutionary development, its ideation (thoughts and beliefs), and its very nature-through material forms. The volume encompasses the wide spectrum of the discipline, showcasing contributions from more than 50 established and emerging scholars from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Prominent among these are contributions that discuss the epistemological frameworks of both the evolutionary and ideational approaches and the leading theories that ground interpretations. Significantly, the majority of chapters deliver substantive contributions that analyze specific examples of material culture, from the oldest known stone tools to ceramic and rock art traditions of the recent millennium. These examples include the gamut of methods and techniques, including typology, replication studies, cha?nes operatoires, neuroarchaeology, ethnographic comparison, and the direct historical approach. In addition, the book begins with retrospective essays by several of the pioneers of cognitive archaeology, presenting a broad range of state-of-the-art investigations into cognitive abilities, tackling thorny issues like the cognitive status of Neandertals, and concluding with speculative essays about the future of an archaeology of mind, and of the mind itself.

Solarizing the Moon: Essays in honour of Lionel Sims
Solarizing the Moon: Essays in honour of Lionel Sims

Author: Fabio Silva

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Published: 2022-07-21

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1803271132

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Lionel Sims has produced an influential body of work that has challenged existing narratives about British prehistoric monuments and provided innovative ways to approach and think about skyscapes. This book, in his honour, is divided into three parts: Anthropology and Human Origins, Prehistory and Megalithic Monuments, and Theory.

Dark Skies
Dark Skies

Author: Nick Dunn

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-11-27

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1003826512

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Dark Skies addresses a significant gap in knowledge in relation to perspectives from the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In providing a new multi- and interdisciplinary field of inquiry, this book brings together engagements with dark skies from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, empirical studies, and theoretical orientations. Throughout history, the relationship with dark skies has generated a sense of wonder and awe, as well as providing the basis for important cultural meanings and spiritual beliefs. However, the connection to darks skies is now under threat due to the widespread growth of light pollution and the harmful impacts that this has upon humans, non-humans, and the planet we share. This book, therefore, examines the rich potential of dark skies and their relationships with place, communities, and practices to provide new insights and understandings on their importance for our world in an era of climate emergency and environmental degradation. This book is intended for a wide audience. It will be of interest to scholars, students, and professionals in geography, design, astronomy, anthropology, ecology, history, and public policy, as well as anyone who has an interest in how we can protect the night sky for the benefit of us all and the future generations to follow. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Stonehenge
Stonehenge

Author: Clive Ruggles

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2024-04-03

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1835538223

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Stonehenge is one of the most famous ancient monuments in the world and its solar alignment is one of its most important features. Yet although archaeologists have learned a huge amount about this iconic monument and its development, a sense of mystery continues about its purpose. This helps fuel numerous theories and common misconceptions, particularly concerning its relationship to the sky and the heavenly bodies. A desire to cut through this confusion was the inspiration for this book, and it fills a gaping hole in the existing literature. The book provides both an introduction to Stonehenge and its landscape and an introduction to archaeoastronomy—the study of how ancient peoples understood phenomena in the sky, and what role the sky played in their cultures. Archaeoastronomy is a specialism critical to explaining the relationship of Stonehenge and nearby monuments to the heavens, but interpreting archaeoastronomical evidence has often proved highly controversial in the past. Stonehenge: Sighting the Sun explains why. It makes clear which ideas about Stonehenge are generally accepted and which are not, with clear graphics to explain complicated concepts. This beautifully illustrated book shines new light on this most famous of ancient monuments, and is the first in-depth study of this fascinating topic suitable both for specialists and for anyone with a general interest.