Archaeoastronomy

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The archaeoastronomy focuses on a scientific basis with archaeological excavations, architectural monuments, artefacts and their astronomical explanation and interpretation. The subject is also known as astroarchaeology or palaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy . The term archaeoastronomy originated in the 1960s.

Early considerations

The first astronomically motivated considerations on the orientation of megaliths come from the Danish Chancellor Arild Huitfeldt (1546–1609). He differentiated the dolmens of Denmark into “altars of the dead”, which in his view were oriented north-south, and “idol altars”, which were oriented east-west, because of the “pagan” custom of worshiping the sun. William Stukeley (1687–1765) was the first to use his own measurements in 1740 to determine the orientation of Stonehenge after sunrise on the summer solstice. In 1723 he already assigned the stone circles of Stanton Drew astronomically. In 1770, John Smith suspected that Stonehenge was also a planetarium of the ancient Druids and that the Sarsen circle served as a counting calendar. Johann Adrian Bolten (1742–1807) thought he recognized an aspect of age determination in the deviating directions of the “sacrificial sites” (megalithic tombs), since “the deviation of the magnetic needle” may have changed since then. In 1777 the French natural scientist H. Besson reported on the calendar astronomical solar phenomenon at the " Martinsloch " near Elm in Switzerland. In 1823 the Fürstlich-Lippische Intellektivenblatt reported on the observation of the calendar appearance of the sun in the round window of a sacred rock niche of the Externsteine and on speculations related to earlier determinations of the seasons. In 1824 the archaeologist Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching (1783–1829) observed that the skeletons in prehistoric graves were mostly oriented in the same cardinal directions. A 995 report of a "thunderstorm" over Armagh called the Irish megaliths the "Celestral Index". From this the Irishman Thomas Moore concluded in 1835 : “That it was a main purpose of these monuments to stand there as gigantic sun pointers and to use their shadows to measure the decrease and increase of the day from solstice to solstice.” Karl Benjamin Preusker saw in different rocks the Upper Lusatia "pagan sacrificial altars" and "god temple" for a " sun cult ". He saw a meaning similar to that of Stonehenge. In recesses he suspected that the priests were seated "... to religiously expect and greet the first rays of the rising sun." In 1850, Ernst Wilhelm Heine speculated about stone circles in the Gierfeld near Westerholte that they were "complicated ciphers and formulas for calculating the most important events in the starry sky" represent. In 1885 Heinrich Nissen (1839–1912) presented a study that showed the alignment of ancient temples according to astronomical aspects. Félix Gaillard (1832–1910) published a text in 1892 in which he saw the megaliths as astronomical aids "L'Astronomie préhistorique".

history

Archaeoastronomy as an independent science is mainly associated with the work of the British astronomer Joseph Norman Lockyer . Another co-founder is the American astronomer Gerald Hawkins , who in 1965 in his book Stonehenge decoded (and previously in 1963 in a Nature article) pointed out that the position and distance between the stones of Stonehenge encoded the sun and moon measurements . They can be used to predict sunrises and sunsets , the movement of the moon, and solar and lunar eclipses . His work was criticized by archaeologists, but received positively by the wider public. Even if his interpretation of Stonehenge as a calculating machine is hardly followed today, astronomical orientations are also accepted for megalithic systems such as Newgrange or circular ditch systems .

Today many scientists are concerned with the astronomical knowledge of our ancestors. When interpreting the finds, archaeoastronomy works closely with astronomical chronology and uses its methodology. For the archaeoastronomical field work u. a. Theodolite , compass , inclinometer , navigation satellite systems and geographic information systems are used.

Most of the time, archaeoastronomy is used in cultures that did not leave any written records and where only archaeological methods continue. Mesoamerican archaeoastronomy plays a special role , as there are written records here (such as the Codex Dresdensis ).

A main part of archaeoastronomy deals with megalithic astronomy, i.e. with the astronomical knowledge of the cultures in the megalithic areas of Europe from the middle Neolithic to the Bronze Age (around 4500 to 1500 BC). In addition to the large stone graves, menhirs, rows of stones and stone circles are included in the consideration. In general, megalithic astronomy includes the idea that some monuments had one or more elements of astronomical significance.

Some interpretations in the field of archaeoastronomy are controversial, e.g. B. the interpretation of the cave paintings of Lascaux as a kind of planetarium as well as various rock engravings in caves in the same region as astronomical markings.

Since 1981 the International Astronomical Union has organized scientific conferences such as The “Oxford” International Symposia on Archaeoastronomy . 2011 was the ninth meeting in Lima, Peru.

The civil engineer Erwin Reidinger examines sacred buildings of antiquity and the Middle Ages with regard to their staking out according to the sun. In church buildings, the easting of the nave and choir shows up as an axis bend in different years after sunrise .

See also

literature

  • Anthony Aveni , Gary Urton: Ethnoastronomy and archaeoastronomy in the American tropics. New York Academy of Sciences, New York 1982, ISBN 0-89766-160-5
  • Anthony Aveni: Skywatchers of ancient Mexico , University of Texas Press, Austin 2001, ISBN 0-292-70504-2 .
  • Anthony Aveni: Foundations of new world cultural astronomy. Univ. Press of Colorado, Boulder 2008, ISBN 0-87081-900-3 .
  • Brian S. Bauer: Astronomy and empire in the ancient Andes. The cultural origins of Inca sky watching. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin 1995, ISBN 0-292-70837-8
  • William H. Calvin : How the shaman stole the moon - in search of the knowledge of the Stone Age. Hanser, Munich & Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-446-17310-2
  • Rudolf Drößler : When the stars were gods. Sun, moon and stars in the mirror of archeology, art and cult. Prisma, Leipzig 1976
  • Rudolf Drößler: Astronomy in Stone. Archaeologists and astronomers unravel old buildings and places of worship , Prisma, Leipzig 1990, ISBN 3-7354-0019-1
  • Hannes D. Galter (ed.): The role of astronomy in the cultures of Mesopotamia: Contributions to the 3rd Graz Oriental Symposium, (23-27 September 1991). RM-Druck- und Verl.-Ges., Graz 1993, ISBN 3-85375-009-5
  • Rita Gautschy, Michael E. Habicht , Francesco M. Galassi, Daniela Rutica, Frank J. Rühli, Rainer Hannig: A New Astronomically Based Chronological Model for the Egyptian Old Kingdom. in: Journal of Egyptian History, 2017, Vol. 10 (2), 69-108. doi: 10.1163 / 18741665-12340035
  • Gerald S. Hawkins, John B. White: Stonehenge decoded. Doubleday & Company, New York 1965, 1972, 1993, ISBN 0-88029-147-8
  • Jarita C. Holbrook (et al.): African Cultural Astronomy. Current Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy research in Africa. Springer 2008, ISBN 978-1-4020-6638-2
  • Fred Hoyle : On Stonehenge. Freeman & Company, San Francisco 1977, ISBN 0-7167-0364-5
  • David H. Kelley, et al .: Exploring ancient skies - an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy. Springer, New York 2005, ISBN 0-387-95310-8
  • Edwin C. Krupp : Echoes of the ancient skies. The astronomy of lost civilizations. Oxford University Press 1983, ISBN 0-19-508801-8
  • Rolf Müller : The sky above the people of the Stone Age. Astronomy and mathematics in the structures of the megalithic cultures. Springer, Berlin 1970
  • Clive LN Ruggles : Ancient astronomy. An encyclopedia of cosmologies and myth. Abc-Clio, Santa Barbara 2005, ISBN 1-85109-616-7
  • Giorgio de Santillana , Hertha von Dechend : Hamlet's mill. An essay on myth and the framework of time. Berlin 1992. ISBN 3-926763-23-X
  • Wolfhard Schlosser , Jan Cierny: Stars and stones. A practical astronomy of the past . Theiss, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8062-1318-6
  • Ralf Herold, The Track of Light - Project of the Gods - Sun Sanctuaries of Upper Lusatia. Sohland / Spree observatory, Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2020, ISBN 978-3-7519-5892-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The European Society for Astronomy in Culture; the interdisciplinary disciplines of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy. ( Memento of the original from October 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.archeoastronomy.org
  2. ↑ " The term archaeoastronomy - the study of the astronomy of ancient cultures - was coined in 1969 for a multidisciplinary subject which, in addition to archeology and astronomy, includes various subjects such as geology, climate science and technology as well as history, art and religion. " From: Ken Taylor: Kosmische Kultstätten the world - from Stonehenge to the Mayan temples. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2012. ISBN 978-3-440-13221-0 , p. 7.
  3. ↑ Arild Huitfeldt in Chron. M. pag. I.
  4. ↑ John Michell "Sun, Moon, and Stones - A Brief Historical Outline of Astro-Archeology," pp. 9-11
  5. ↑ John Michell "Sun, Moon and Stones - A Brief Historical Outline of Astro-Archeology", pp. 12/13
  6. ^ Johann Adrian Bolten, "Ditmarsische Geschichte", Volume 1, 1781, p. 249 (footer text)
  7. ↑ Christian Gottlieb Klostermeier, supplemented by Dr. Ernst Helwig, "The Eggesterstein im Fürstenthum Lippe", 1848, pp. 1–2
  8. ^ Büsching J .: "The heathen antiquities of Silesia". Volume 4, 1824
  9. ↑ Annal. Ult. Ad annum 995; Thomas Moore, “The History of Ireland,” Volume 1, 1835, pp. 40 and 83
  10. ↑ Karl Benjamin Preusker, "Views in die Vaterländische Vorzeit", Volume 1, 1841, p. 15 and Volume 3, 1844, pp. 173–176
  11. ↑ Ernst Wilhelm Heine, “About Germanism”, 1850, pp. 39–41, 49–50 and 81
  12. ^ Specialist journal "Rheinisches Museum für Philologie", year 1885
  13. ^ Félix Gaillard, "L'Astronomie préhistorique", 1892
  14. ^ "As a discipline, archaeoastronomy stems from the publication of JN Lockyer's Dawn of Astronomy in 1894". In: David H. Kelley et al .: Exploring ancient skies - an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy. New York 2005, p. 1
  15. ↑ Gerald S. Hawkins: Stonehenge Decoded . In: Nature , Vol. 200, No. 4904, pp. 306-308 (October 26, 1963), doi: 10.1038 / 200306a0
  16. ↑ Volker Bialas: Astronomy and Beliefs in Megalithic Culture - Critique of Archaeoastronomy. Munich 1988
  17. ↑ Gerald S. Hawkins: Stonehenge Archives: Twenty Years After "Stonehenge Decoded". In: Archaeoastronomy , Vol. 8 (1985), p. 6
  18. ↑ Giulio Magli: Archaeoastronomy - introduction to the science of stars and stones. Springer, Cham 2016, ISBN 978-3-319-22881-5 , Acquiring Data, pp. 29-39.
  19. ^ Gerardo Aldana y Villalobos, et al .: Archaeoastronomy and the Maya. Oxbow Books, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-1-78297-643-1 .
  20. ↑ The "Oxford" International Symposia on Archaeoastronomy ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. archaeoastronomy.org, accessed April 6, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www3.archaeoastronomy.org
  21. ^ IAU Symposia IAUS 278: Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy: Building Bridges between Cultures iau.org