Download or read book Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico written by Anthony F. Aveni and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining as it does the romance of space with the mystery of the past, the study of pre-Columbian skywatchers of the New World has drawn increasing scientific and popular attention in recent years. Aveni, one of the pioneers in this new interdisciplinary field, couples basic astronomy with archaeological and ethnological data to present a readable and entertaining synthesis of what is known of ancient astronomy in this hemisphere.
Download or read book Skywatchers written by Anthony F. Aveni and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2001-08-15 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico helped establish the field of archaeoastronomy, and it remains the standard introduction to this subject. Combining basic astronomy with archaeological and ethnological data, it presented a readable and entertaining synthesis of all that was known of ancient astronomy in the western hemisphere as of 1980. In this revised edition, Anthony Aveni draws on his own and others' discoveries of the past twenty years to bring the Skywatchers story up to the present. He offers new data and interpretations in many areas, including: The study of Mesoamerican time and calendrical systems and their unprecedented continuity in contemporary Mesoamerican culture The connections between Precolumbian religion, astrology, and scientific, quantitative astronomy The relationship between Highland Mexico and the world of the Maya and the state of Pan-American scientific practices The use of personal computer software for computing astronomical data With this updated information, Skywatchers will serve a new generation of general and scholarly readers and will be useful in courses on archaeoastronomy, astronomy, history of astronomy, history of science, anthropology, archaeology, and world religions.
Download or read book Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico written by Anthony F. Aveni and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining as it does the romance of space with the mystery of the past, the study of pre-Columbian skywatchers of the New World has drawn increasing scientific and popular attention in recent years. Aveni, one of the pioneers in this new interdisciplinary field, couples basic astronomy with archaeological and ethnological data to present a readable and entertaining synthesis of what is known of ancient astronomy in this hemisphere.
Download or read book Star Gods of the Maya written by Susan Milbrath and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A prodigious work of unmatched interdisciplinary scholarship” on Maya astronomy and religion (Journal of Interdisciplinary History). Observations of the sun, moon, planets, and stars played a central role in ancient Maya lifeways, as they do today among contemporary Maya who maintain the traditional ways. This pathfinding book reconstructs ancient Maya astronomy and cosmology through the astronomical information encoded in Pre-Columbian Maya art and confirmed by the current practices of living Maya peoples. Susan Milbrath opens the book with a discussion of modern Maya beliefs about astronomy, along with essential information on naked-eye observation. She devotes subsequent chapters to Pre-Columbian astronomical imagery, which she traces back through time, starting from the Colonial and Postclassic eras. She delves into many aspects of the Maya astronomical images, including the major astronomical gods and their associated glyphs, astronomical almanacs in the Maya codices and changes in the imagery of the heavens over time. This investigation yields new data and a new synthesis of information about the specific astronomical events and cycles recorded in Maya art and architecture. Indeed, it constitutes the first major study of the relationship between art and astronomy in ancient Maya culture. “Milbrath has given us a comprehensive reference work that facilitates access to a very broad and varied body of literature spanning several disciplines.” ―Isis “Destined to become a standard reference work on Maya archeoastronomy . . . Utterly comprehensive.” —Andrea Stone, Professor of Art History, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Download or read book Skywatching in the Ancient World written by Clive Ruggles and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2010-12 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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
Download or read book A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East written by John M. Steele and published by Saqi. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle East is the birthplace of astronomy and the centre for its development during the medieval period. In this brief introduction John Steele offers an intriguing insight into Middle Eastern achievements in astronomy and their profound influence on the rest of the world. Amongst other things, the book traces the Late Babylonians' ingenious schemes for modelling planetary motion. It also reveals how medieval Islamic advances in the study of the heavens, and the design of precise astronomical instruments, led to breakthroughs by Renaissance practitioners such as Copernicus and Kepler. An invaluable introduction to one of the oldest sciences in the world.
Download or read book New and Full Moons 1001 B C to A D 1651 written by Herman Heine Goldstine and published by American Philosophical Society. This book was released on 1973 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally pub. in 1973; reprinted in 1994. Presents tables giving the dates of all new and full moons during an historical era when these data were of considerable interest and importance. The longitudes of the moon at each of these times is also given, as is a consecutive enumeration of the conjunctions and a similar one of the oppositions. All dates are reckoned in the Julian calendar. These dates and times are calculated for an observer in Babylon, or equivalently Baghdad, since this location is fairly centrally located for the historians of the period. The time used is civil time and is based on a 24-hour clock with its origin at midnight. Since this vol. may be considered as a suppl. to Tuckerman's tables, all fundamental astronomical elements have been taken from them.
Download or read book Between the Lines written by Anthony F. Aveni and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A FASCINATING OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE LEADING EXPERT AND HIS COLLEAGUES CURRENTLY UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE GIANT GROUND DRAWINGS OF ANCIENT NASCA, PERU.
Download or read book Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico written by Mark Littmann and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kit for a planetarium show about the Mayas. Has a focus on their astronomical observations, which helped to develop their calendar system. Includes slides, audio reels, a brochure, and the manual about the show. The manual includes the script, information about visual and special effects, lists of the slides and how to fade them in and out, a list of the music used in the production, information on the individuals and groups that put the program together, surveys and evaluations, teacher information with classroom activities, notes on the Mayan number system, additional information about the Maya people and a bibliography. A few of the slides are missing.
Download or read book Cosmology Calendars and Horizon Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica written by Anne S. Dowd and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2015-05-15 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cosmology, Calendars, and Horizon-Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica is an interdisciplinary tour de force that establishes the critical role astronomy played in the religious and civic lives of the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica. Providing extraordinary examples of how Precolumbian peoples merged ideas about the cosmos with those concerning calendar and astronomy, the volume showcases the value of detailed examinations of astronomical data for understanding ancient cultures. The volume is divided into three sections: investigations into Mesoamerican horizon-based astronomy, the cosmological principles expressed in Mesoamerican religious imagery and rituals related to astronomy, and the aspects of Mesoamerican calendars related to archaeoastronomy. It also provides cutting-edge research on diverse topics such as records of calendar and horizon-based astronomical observation (like the Dresden and Borgia codices), iconography of burial assemblages, architectural alignment studies, urban planning, and counting or measuring devices. Contributors—who are among the most respected in their fields— explore new dimensions in Mesoamerican timekeeping and skywatching in the Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacano, Zapotec, and Aztec cultures. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of anthropology, archaeology, art history, and astronomy.
Download or read book Early Man and the Cosmos written by Evan Hadingham and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of ancient astronomy looks at the myths and beliefs about the heavens that influenced everyday life in these primitive cultures
Download or read book Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America written by Susan Toby Evans and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2001 with total page 1322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This reference is devoted to the pre-Columbian archaeology of the Mesoamerican culture area, one of the six cradles of early civilization. It features in-depth articles on the major cultural areas of ancient Mexico and Central America; coverage of important sites, including the world-renowned discoveries as well as many lesser-known locations; articles on day-to-day life of ancient peoples in these regions; and several bandw regional and site maps and photographs. Entries are arranged alphabetically and cover introductory archaeological facts (flora, fauna, human growth and development, nonorganic resources), chronologies of various periods (Paleoindian, Archaic, Formative, Classic and Postclassic, and Colonial), cultural features, Maya, regional summaries, research methods and resources, ethnohistorical methods and sources, and scholars and research history. Edited by archaeologists Evans and Webster, both of whom are associated with Pennsylvania State University. c. Book News Inc.
Download or read book The Ever Changing Sky written by James B. Kaler and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-03-14 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ever-Changing Sky provides a comprehensive and non-mathematical guide to spherical astronomy. The reader is guided through terrestrial and celestial co-ordinate systems, time measurement and celestial navigation, to the prediction of the rising and setting of the stars, Sun and Moon. It focuses on the geometrical aspects of the night sky without using complex trigonometry. The book progresses to a general study of the Earth and sky, including the stars and constellations (with useful star maps provided), the motions and appearance of the Moon, tides and eclipses, the orbits of the planets and the smaller bodies of the Solar System (asteroids, meteors, meteorites and comets). Finally, there is a brief overview of atmospheric phenomena (including rainbows and haloes). This text will be invaluable to students taking courses in naked-eye astronomy, amateur and professional astronomers, as well as more general readers wanting to know how the night sky changes.
Download or read book Living the Sky written by Ray A. Williamson and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1987 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagine the North American Indians as astronomers carefully watching the heavens, charting the sun through the seasons, or counting the sunrises between successive lumar phases. Then imagine them establishing observational sites and codified systems to pass their knowledge down through the centuries and continually refine it. A few years ago such images would have been abruptly dismissed. Today we are wiser. Living the Sky describes the exciting archaeoastronomical discoveries in the United States in recent decades. Using history, science, and direct observation, Ray A. Williamson transports the reader into the sky world of the Indians. We visit the Bighorn Medicine Wheel, sit with a Zuni sun priest on the winter solstice, join explorers at the rites of the Hopis and the Navajos, and trek to Chaco Canyon to make direct on-site observations of celestial events.
Download or read book A Skywatcher s Year written by Jeff Kanipe and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-07-08 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Something to look for and enjoy, week by week throughout the year.
Download or read book The Code of Kings written by Linda Schele and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1999-06-06 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This highly informative tour of a lost civilization discusses Mayan history and culture and focuses on seven sites that exemplify the Mayan tradition of using public places to record their history and belief system. Maps, drawings & photos.
Download or read book The Spirit and the Sky written by Mark Hollabaugh and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2017-06 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The interest of nineteenth-century Lakotas in the Sun, the Moon, and the stars was an essential part of their never-ending quest to understand their world. The Spirit and the Sky presents a survey of the ethnoastronomy of the nineteenth-century Lakotas and relates Lakota astronomy to their cultural practices and beliefs. The center of Lakota belief is the incomprehensible, extraordinary, and sacred nature of the world in which they live. The earth beneath and the stars above constitute their holistic world. Mark Hollabaugh offers a detailed analysis of aspects of Lakota culture that have a bearing on Lakota astronomy, including telling time, their names for the stars and constellations as they appeared from the Great Plains, and the phenomena of meteor showers, eclipses, and the aurora borealis. Hollabaugh’s explanation of the cause of the aurora that occurred at the death of Black Elk in 1950 is a new contribution to ethnoastronomy.
