More on "Prehistoric stargazers"


The thirteen towers of Chankillo, Peru
		The 2,300 year old solar 'observatory' at Chankillo is quite unique in that it contains alignments that cover the entire solar year. It predates the European conquests by some 1,800 years.


	The fact that the 13 towers just span the solar rising and setting arcs as seen from the two observing points provides exceptionally clear evidence that solar observations were made here throughout the year. These observations were almost certainly used to regulate seasonal festivities in accordance with the prevailing sun cults. The 'astronomer' was probably a priest of other person of high status who had the power to regulate the rituals that held this ancient society together.

Chankillo

The thirteen towers only became known to the world when Ghezzi and I published a paper in the US journal Science in March 2007. The news story was covered on several websites such as this one and this one, and this podcast describes the discovery.


Stonehenge, United Kingdom
		That Stonehenge is widely perceived as an 'ancient observatory' is largely due to the ideas of Gerald Hawkins and Fred Hoyle in the 1960s, now largely discredited. However, the solstital orientation is unarguable. But which direction was the significant one?

	Stonehenge may remain the quintessential symbol of ancient astronomy but Hawkins' and Hoyle's ideas simply do not fit the archaeological facts. On the other hand, solstitial orientation is repeated at other broadly contemporary monuments in the vicinity, such as Woodhenge. And there is evidence to suggest an interest in the moon, but it comes from looking at the distribution of small offerings around the site, not just at the layout of the stones themselves.

Stonehenge

An awful lot of nonsense is still being written about Stonehenge astronomy both in books and on the web. For a good introductory-level account see Stonehenge: Mysteries of the Stones and Landscape by David Souden. If you are seriously interested, see my book Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland (Yale University Press, 1999) or my chapter in Science and Stonehenge (British Academy, 1992). There is a lot of archaeological work going on around Stonehenge at the moment that promises new insights into the astronomy as well as much else — see here.

A life-sized model of Stonehenge was built in polystyrene foam for the Channel 5 programme "Stonehenge Live!" broadcast in 2005


Newgrange, Ireland
		Newgrange, built over 5000 years ago, was not an observatory; it was a tomb. It was carefully aligned so that the sun lit up the dark interior just for a few minutes after sunrise on the shortest days of the year. This was a not a spectacle for the living, but for the dead.
	© Jimmy Harris

	Newgrange reminds us of the interconnectedness in ancient people's minds between ancestors, death, renewal, seasonality, and the sun. It is as well to remember this when interpreting astronomically aligned 'temples' such as Stonehenge, before jumping to the conclusion that they were necessarily 'observatories'. If people had merely wanted an observing device to tell whether the solstice had arrived, they would have constructed something far simpler than these huge edifices.

Newgrange

For a good, balanced description of Newgrange and its solstitial alignment see this article by Tom Ray. And there is now available a video record of the 2007 winter solstice sunrise (the 40th anniversary of its original discovery). There is a detailed account in my book Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland (Yale University Press, 1999).
	Above the passage entrance, behind the carved stone, is a "roof box" through which the midwinter sun shone to light up the interior even after the entrance itself had been blocked off


The Nebra Disc, Germany

	To my mind, the evidence that the Nebra Disc was some kind of astronomical instrument is very weak. The stars are too regular, for a start, and the sun and moon are far too big. Why can we not be just as impressed to see this as a remarkable "object of power" ornamented with astral symbols? I think it is because we all too often try to judge the past in our own terms.

Nebra Disc

For an excellent balanced discussion of the disc I recommend a recent article by Emília Pásztor and Curt Roslund in the journal Antiquity. See also pages 304–307 of my Ancient Astronomy encyclopedia.
	© D Bachmann


Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA
	This arid canyon became a major cultural centre around AD 950–1100. It has also attracted intense archaeoastronomical interest.

Chaco Canyon

			A lot of important work has been done at Chaco by the Solstice Project. For an overview see pages 80–90 of my Ancient Astronomy encyclopedia.
	Chaco Canyon may well have been a centre for seasonal pilgrimages and these may have taken place at the solstices, with the cardinal and solstitial alignments of buildings and structures reflecting a system of beliefs in which human activity was kept in harmony with the seasons and cosmos. However, interpretations of rock art symbols as depictions of specific astronomical events such as eclipses and comet appearances are highly speculative.


	The 'sun dagger' petroglyph high up Fajada Butte (seen here) has become world famous...	...but the idea that these symbols depicted a supernova explosion in AD 1054 has been discredited.


Emu in the Sky, Aboriginal Australia

	Dark cloud 'constellations' seem a strange idea until you actually stand beneath a truly dark night sky, preferably in the southern hemisphere, when their extraordinary visual impact suddenly becomes clear. They are not imaginary figures formed by 'joining the dots' of selected stars, but solid shapes silhouetted against the bright ribbon of the Milky Way that appear to loom behind the curtain of foreground stars. Seen at the right time on a moonless night, the huge emu 'stands' on the horizon and stretches halfway up the sky. It is scarcely surprising that this dark and imposing shape impacted strongly on the lives both of Australian Aboriginals and of other indigenous peoples in the southern hemisphere.

Emu in the sky

On Aboriginal astronomy in general see Ray Norris's web resource and in particular this page, which contains the full version of the extraordinary photograph of the celestial emu seen on the right. See also pages 1–5 of my Ancient Astronomy encyclopedia.
		© Barnaby Norris


The Pleiades and El Niño, Bolivia
		Each year, Andean farmers eagerly await the first annual appearance of the Pleiades, and thereby make forecasts about the later rains. Modern science has recently shown why this works.
	NASA

	All over the ancient world, people noticed correlations between the behaviour of objects in the sky and other aspects of their daily lives. Sometimes we can find a rational (scientific) explanation; sometimes we would regard the perceived link as nothing more than superstition. Here is an example where a scientific explanation has only recently emerged for an association observed by indigenous peoples for many generations.

Pleiades/El Niño

The scientific paper describing the original discovery tells it all.


Star compass, Pacific Ocean
		The 'star compass' is a traditional method of navigating between islands in the vast Pacific ocean: a mental construct used long before European contact and the availability of navigational instruments.
	© Polynesian Voy. Soc.

	Ancient Oceanic peoples did not use astronomy only for navigation. A common form of calendar based on the cycles of the moon was used all over Polynesia and Micronesia, and the same month, day, and star names have been found in islands thousands of miles apart. Stars and constellations were frequently associated with gods, culture heroes, and living chiefs.

Star compass

The Polynesian Voyaging Society reconstructed a Polynesian-style sailing canoe, the Hōkūle'a (see picture above), in the 1970s and sailing it on numerous long-distance voyages since then using traditional navigation techniques, including the star compass. For a full account see Ben Finney's book Voyage of Rediscovery. See also various articles in my Ancient Astronomy encyclopedia.


The Caracol, Chichen Itza, Mexico
	It has been suggested that this, the only round building in the vast Mayan complex of Chichen Itza, was an observatory. The celestial cycles had huge importance for the Mayans.

Caracol

A sobering thought about Mayan astronomy is that its extraordinary sophistication and complexity is only known to us because of the preservation of stone inscriptions and the chance survival of a very few key documents. The architectural alignments that exist would tell us little or nothing on their own.

The particular importance of the planet Venus to the Mayans is known from 'books' such as the Dresden Codex (left) and inscriptions. Iconography depicts the planet associated with warfare and human sacrifice.

There is a huge serious literature about Mayan astronomy, as well as lots around that is less well founded. For the seriously interested see Tony Aveni's Skywatchers. On a more introductory level, see various articles in my Ancient Astronomy encyclopedia.

Public domain image


Chinese Oracle Bones
		Some of the earliest Chinese records of astronomical events are found on oracle bones, divinatory devices dating to the Shang and Zhou dynasties (second and first millennia BC). The one described by Nigel as the earliest record of a precisely dated event refers to a solar eclipse that occurred on 5 June 1302 BC.
	UCLA Center for Chinese Studies

Oracle bones



	While we can see this as a landmark in the history of scientific astronomy it is worth remembering that our own distinction between science and superstition — between what is 'rational' and what isn't — did not apply in the past. The oracle bones recorded a prognostication: it is our good fortune that, in this case, a record was made of the unusual event that motivated it.

China has a long history of involvement in both astronomy and astrology, and many general books about the history of astronomy, such as Astronomy before the Telescope and Astronomy across Cultures contain chapters about it. See also pages 90–94 of my Ancient Astronomy encyclopedia.

One of several medieval astronomical instruments preserved on the roof of the Old Observatory in Beijing




			"An excellent resource for anyone who wants to know about ancient astronomies worldwide"

			"A landmark in the investigation of megalithic monuments"

			This is the authoritative source on American archaeoastronomy,

			while this shows where European archaeoastronomy has been going in recent years,

			and this remains an excellent source on ancient astronomy around the world.

	For the history of astronomy generally, an authoritative book is

	.. while Nigel Henbest and Heather Couper provide a more popular account.

			Buy books from amazon.co.uk ...

	© Clive Ruggles. All photographs are by Clive Ruggles unless otherwise stated. Last updated: 2009 Jan 11

The thirteen towers of Chankillo, Peru

Stonehenge, United Kingdom

Newgrange, Ireland

The Nebra Disc, Germany

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA

Emu in the Sky, Aboriginal Australia

The Pleiades and El Niño, Bolivia

Star compass, Pacific Ocean

The Caracol, Chichen Itza, Mexico

Chinese Oracle Bones