Beyond Jodrell Bank: astronomical heritage Ruggles, Clive
Astronomy & geophysics : the journal of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2019, Volume:
60, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Abstract
In July, UNESCO added two very different astronomical places to its World Heritage List. Clive Ruggles explains the background to this decision and what it means for our astronomical ...heritage.
Compiled in honor of Anthony F. Aveni, America's leading archaeoastronomer, Skywatching in the Ancient World offers state-of-the-art work in cultural astronomy by well-known experts in Mayan glyphic ...studies, cultural history, ethnohistory, and the history of science and of religions. This collection's wide range of outstanding scholarship reveals that cultural astronomy has come into its own. The diverse topics addressed by the contributors include the correlation between Colonial Northern Zapotec and Gregorian calendars, the period of use of the Dresden Codex Venus table and the significance of the Lunar Almanacs that precede it, a new interpretation of an Inka tapestry mantle as a commemorative calendar, temple orientations in Hawai'i and church orientations in Medieval England, and the connection in cultural imagery between astronomers (science) and wizards (magic). Contributors include: Harvey M. Bricker, Victoria R. Bricker, Edward E. Calnek, Clemency Coggins, John Justeson, Edwin C. Krupp, Stephen C. McCluskey, Susan Milbrath, Clive Ruggles, David Tavárez, Barbara Tedlock, Dennis Tedlock, Gary Urton, and R. Tom Zuidema. Mesoamerican Worlds Series
The Hawaiian people before Western contact gathered at special places during the Makahiki period, a time that was sacred to the god Lono, and during which sports, games and other ceremonies took ...place. Archaeological excavation and archaeoastronomical investigation together suggest that an approximately 40 m² rock enclosure in the uplands of Honouliuli on the island of O'ahu was such a special gathering place. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the enclosure was most likely constructed between the late AD 1500s and early AD 1600s, with a notable period of use during the mid-AD 1600s. The archaeoastronomical evidence supports this conclusion, in that the enclosure is precisely aligned upon the horizon rising point in AD 1600 of the Pleiades star cluster (Makali'i in Hawaiian), whose first appearance each November marked the beginning of the four-month Makahiki "annnual harvest" period dedicated to the god Lono. That time period saw the peaking and stabilisation of population on O'ahu, and the expansion of settlements into marginal environmental zones such as Honouliuli. A significant number of temples built around the same time on the island of Maui are oriented in a similar manner.
The study of astronomical knowledge and observations in ancient cultures has enabled and enriched archaeological interpretations in contexts as diverse as pre-Columbian America, later prehistoric ...Europe, Egypt, Babylonia, and the Far East. The application of archaeoastronomy to the study of ancient Greek religion has been less successful and has been hampered by poor practice. Through a case study that investigates the astronomy in Alcman’sPartheneionand its possible relationship with the Artemis Orthia rites carried out at her sanctuary in Sparta, we aim to show that a robust and methodologically sound archaeoastronomical approach can contribute to a better understanding of the role of astronomy in Greek religious practice and perceptions of the cosmos.
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