In Search of Ancient Astronomies PDF Download

Author: Edwin C. Krupp
Publisher: Doubleday Books
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Stonehenge to von Daniken : archaeoastronomy discovers our sophisticated ancestors. First popular all-over survey of the science of archaeoastronomy - the study of the astronomies of ancient and prehistoric times through archaeology. Krupp expertly separates truth from fantasy in this volume, which includes articles written by top authorities on Stonehenge, ancient North American Indian astronomers, the famous Maya observatories, Egyptian pyramids and star clocks, and the theories of Velikovsky and Von Daniken.

Author: E. C. Krupp
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486137643
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Popular, authoritative look at the world of archaeoastronomy, the study of ancient peoples' observation of the skies and its role in their cultural evolution. 208 illustrations.

Author: Stephen C. McCluskey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521778527
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This book provides an overview of the astronomical practices that continued through the so-called "Dark Ages." Like the astronomies of traditional societies, early medieval astronomies established a religious framework of sacred time and ritual calender; here Christian feasts tied to a pre-Christian ritual solar calender, the date of Easter tied to the Hebrew lunar calender; and the timing of monastic prayers in terms of the course of the stars. Coupled with the remnants of ancient geometrical astronomy, these provided the framework for the rebirth of astronomy with the rise of the medieval universities.

Author: David H. Kelley
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 038726356X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 623

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Book Description
Exploring Ancient Skies brings together the methods of archaeology and the insights of modern astronomy to explore the science of astronomy as it was practiced in various cultures prior to the invention of the telescope. The book reviews an enormous and growing body of literature on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, the Far East, and the New World (particularly Mesoamerica), putting the ancient astronomical materials into their archaeological and cultural contexts. The authors begin with an overview of the field and proceed to essential aspects of naked-eye astronomy, followed by an examination of specific cultures. The book concludes by taking into account the purposes of ancient astronomy: astrology, navigation, calendar regulation, and (not least) the understanding of our place and role in the universe. Skies are recreated to display critical events as they would have appeared to ancient observers - events such as the supernova of 1054, the 'lion horoscope' or the 'Star of Bethlehem.' Exploring Ancient Skies provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between astronomy and other areas of human investigation. It will be useful as a reference for scholars and students in both astronomy and archaeology, and will be of compelling interest to readers who seek a broad understanding of our collective intellectual history.

Author: Gary Urton
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292790511
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
Above Misminay, the sky also is so divided by the alternation of the two axes of the Milky Way passing through the zenith. This mirror-image quadri-partition of terrestrial and celestial spheres is such that a point within one of the quarters of the earth is related to a point within the corresponding celestial quarter. The transition between the earth and the sky occurs at the horizon, where sacred mountains are related to topographic and celestial features. Based on fieldwork in Misminay, Peru, Gary Urton details a cosmology in which the Milky Way is central. This is the first study that provides a description and analysis of the astronomical and cosmological system in a contemporary community in the Americas. Separate chapters take up the sun, the moon, meteorological phenomena, the stars, and the planets. Star-to-star constellations, the "animal" dark-cloud constellations that cut through the Milky Way, and certain twilight- and midnight-zenith stars are analyzed in terms of their spatial and temporal integration within an indigenous cosmological framework. Urton breaks new ground by demonstrating the indigenous merging of such forms of "precise knowledge" as astronomy, meteorology, agriculture, and the correlation of astronomical and biological cycles within a single calendar system. More than sixty diagrams clarify this Quechua system of astronomy and relate it to more familiar principles of Western astronomy and cosmology.

Author: Helaine Selin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401141797
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 678

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Book Description
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.

Author: Alan C. Bowen
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004400567
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 783

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Book Description
In Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, renowned scholars address questions about what the ancient science of the heavens was and the numerous contexts in which it was pursued.

Author: Edwin C. Krupp
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Dr. Edwin C. Krupp in his latest book, Beyond the Blue Horizon, examines the myths and legends of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. He addresses questions such as: What is the moon's role in lunacy?; How is a match made in heaven?; and Is Santa Claus a modern shaman? More than 200 black-and-white photos.

Author: Efrosyni Boutsikas
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030646068
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
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.

Author: Kenneth Silver
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 178491729X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
This book addresses the proto-history and the roots of the Qumran community and of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the light of contemporary scholarship in Alexandria, Egypt.