Archaeoastronomy 101
"Our planet moves around the Sun in an elliptical circuit deviating less than a second from one year to the next. Together we proceed through 8 significant, yet invisible, thresholds within each orbit. These spatial milestones mark the beginning, midpoint and end of each of our seasons. Equinoxes, solstices and cross-quarters are moments shared planet-wide, defined by the earth's tilt and the sun's position on the ecliptic along 45° arcs.
"To ancient civilizations fascinated and entertained by the cyclical motion of the heavens, the ability to fix these cusps just to the nearest day was highly-prized, even sacred knowledge. With modern measurements and calculators much better accuracy is possible for determining these moments.
"This grand octal in the sky is largely ignored by most modern societies. Equinoxes and solstices have become little more than footnote mentions on occasional weather reports. Cross-quarters are all but forgotten, in spite of having been observed and celebrated by Celtic people for centuries.
"Archaeoastronomy's goal is to understand how skywatchers of the past fashioned and refined systems for regulating their primitive calendars and for memorializing celestial events, both cyclical and unique. Often they relied on sunlight and shadow plays striking and passing across targets and designs aligned with equinox, solstice and cross-quarter sunrises and sunsets. Sometimes the celestial cycles of the Moon, Venus and Mars captivated their attention, too. However, knowing seasonal durations and transitions was vital to success in hunting migratory prey, planting crops and harvesting them.
"Archaeoastronomy draws on several scientific disciplines, primarily astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, psychology, and epigraphy, the decoding of ancient inscriptions...
"Our featured archaeoastronomical pages focus on four regions: The United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Pyramids, presently limited to The Great Pyramid in Egypt.
"We also publish a list of links to other archaeoastronomy resources and related topics online."
Of course, I cannot let this post end without pointing you to Graham Hancock's site. Hancock is the author of Fingerprints of the Gods, Heaven's Mirror and Underworld, among other titles.
"To ancient civilizations fascinated and entertained by the cyclical motion of the heavens, the ability to fix these cusps just to the nearest day was highly-prized, even sacred knowledge. With modern measurements and calculators much better accuracy is possible for determining these moments.
"This grand octal in the sky is largely ignored by most modern societies. Equinoxes and solstices have become little more than footnote mentions on occasional weather reports. Cross-quarters are all but forgotten, in spite of having been observed and celebrated by Celtic people for centuries.
"Archaeoastronomy's goal is to understand how skywatchers of the past fashioned and refined systems for regulating their primitive calendars and for memorializing celestial events, both cyclical and unique. Often they relied on sunlight and shadow plays striking and passing across targets and designs aligned with equinox, solstice and cross-quarter sunrises and sunsets. Sometimes the celestial cycles of the Moon, Venus and Mars captivated their attention, too. However, knowing seasonal durations and transitions was vital to success in hunting migratory prey, planting crops and harvesting them.
"Archaeoastronomy draws on several scientific disciplines, primarily astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, psychology, and epigraphy, the decoding of ancient inscriptions...
"Our featured archaeoastronomical pages focus on four regions: The United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Pyramids, presently limited to The Great Pyramid in Egypt.
"We also publish a list of links to other archaeoastronomy resources and related topics online."
Of course, I cannot let this post end without pointing you to Graham Hancock's site. Hancock is the author of Fingerprints of the Gods, Heaven's Mirror and Underworld, among other titles.
Archaeoastronomy 101
mr damon, 15:00
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