Download or read book Astronomy Across Cultures written by Helaine Selin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Astronomies and Cultures in Early Medieval Europe written by Stephen C. McCluskey and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-11-20 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book African Cultural Astronomy written by Jarita Holbrook and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first scholarly collection of articles focused on the cultural astronomy of the African continent. It weaves together astronomy, anthropology, and Africa and it includes African myths and legends about the sky, alignments to celestial bodies found at archaeological sites and at places of worship, rock art with celestial imagery, and scientific thinking revealed in local astronomy traditions including ethnomathematics and the creation of calendars.
Download or read book Astronomy in Culture Cultures of Astronomy Astronomie in der Kultur Kulturen der Astronomie written by Gudrun Wolfschmidt and published by tredition. This book was released on 2022-11-28 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book "Astronomy in Culture - Cultures of Astronomy" provides a cultural history of astronomy. After a keynote on the efforts to protect the dark sky as an intangible global heritage admired of all cultures under the World Heritage Convention, tangible places of astronomical heritage are described. Archaeoastronomical sites from different continents and astronomical observatories from the late Middle Ages to the 21st century are presented as cultural heritage (material culture) in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 outlines some intangible astronomical heritage of Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Astronomical observations in all cultures are the basis for time keeping and calendars all over the world. Constellations are represented as figures resembling animals or seasonal activities, and seasonal climate determines rituals and cultural festivals. Chapter 4 is devoted to some astronomical heritage presented in modern planetariums and museums representing the modern culture. A highlight is the network study of patterns stored in the planetarium software "Stellarium". Chapter 5 contains some cross-cultural comparisons involving the whole sky. Scholars from different academic backgrounds (archaeology, history of science, philology, art history, planetarium educators, computer/data science) present their studies of this traditional knowledge and how it has been transmitted and transformed over the millennia in the seven chapters of this impressive book. Dieses Buch "Astronomie in der Kultur - Kulturen der Astronomie" bietet eine Kulturgeschichte der Astronomie. Es beginnt mit den Bemühungen, den dunklen Himmel, der von allen Kulturen bewundert wird, im Rahmen der Welterbekonvention als immaterielles Erbe zu schützen. Astronomische Observatorien und archäoastronomische Stätten werden in Kapitel 2 als kulturelles Erbe (materielle Kultur) vorgestellt. Kapitel 3 bietet das immaterielle Erbe von der Antike bis zum Mittelalter. Astronomische Beobachtungen in allen Kulturen sind die Grundlage für Zeitrechnungen und Kalender auf der ganzen Welt. Sternbilder werden als Figuren dargestellt, die Tieren oder Tätigkeiten der Jahreszeiten ähneln, und das jahreszeitliche Klima bestimmt die Rituale und kulturellen Feste. Kapitel 4 ist einem Teil des astronomischen Erbes gewidmet, das in modernen Planetarien und Museen der modernen Kultur präsentiert wird. Ein Höhepunkt ist die Netzwerkstudie der Muster, die in der Planetariumssoftware "Stellarium" gespeichert sind. Kapitel 5 enthält einige kulturübergreifende Vergleiche, die den gesamten Himmel betreffen. Wissenschaftler mit unterschiedlichen akademischen Hintergründen (Archäologie, Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Philologie, Kunstgeschichte, Planetariumspädagogen, Informatik/Datenwissenschaft) stellen in den sieben Kapiteln dieses beeindruckenden Buches ihre Studien über dieses traditionelle Wissen und seine Übertragung und Veränderung im Laufe der Jahrtausende vor.
Download or read book Astronomies and Cultures written by Clive L. N. Ruggles and published by Ocarina Books. This book was released on 1993 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten thematic articles illustrating the broad scope, diversity and cultural significance of contemporary studies in archaeoastronomy. Contents: The Study of Cultural Astronomy ( Clive Ruggles and Nicholas Saunders ); The Yao Dian and the Origins of Astronomy in China ( Chen Cheng-Yih and Xi Zezong ); The Riddle of Red Sirius: An Anthropological Perspective ( Roger Ceragioli ); Astronomies and Rituals at the Dawn of the Middle Ages ( Stephen McCluskey ); Folk Astronomy in the Service of Religion: The Case of Islam ( David King ); Cosmos and Kings at Vijayanagara ( John McKim Malville and John Fritz ); Medicine Wheel Astronomy ( David Vogt ); Venus-Regulated Warfare and Ritual Sacrifice in Mesoamerica ( John Carlson ); Astronomical Knowledge, Calendrics, and Sacred Geography in Ancient Mesoamerica ( Johanna Broda ); The Pleiades in Comparative Perspective: The Waiwai Shirkoimo and the Shipibo Huishmabo ( Peter G. Roe ).
Download or read book Advancing Cultural Astronomy written by Efrosyni Boutsikas and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-04-08 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Exploring Ancient Skies written by David H. Kelley and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-12-06 with total page 623 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Culture of Astronomy written by Thomas Karl Dietrich and published by Hillcrest Publishing Group. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores astronomy's impact on the world today, delving into the histories of many civilizations to explain the world as we know it and to raise new questions about what the future holds. -- from back cover.
Download or read book Beyond Paradigms in Cultural Astronomy written by A. César González-García and published by International. This book was released on 2021-07-30 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proceedings of the SEAC 27th annual meeting held in September 2019 in Bern in confluence with the EAA annual meeting.
Download or read book Astronomy of the Inca Empire written by Steven R. Gullberg and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-06 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Astronomy in the Inca Empire was a robust and fundamental practice. The subsequent Spanish conquest of the Andes region disrupted much of this indigenous culture and resulted in a significant loss of information about its rich history. Through modern archaeoastronomy, this book helps recover and interpret some of these elements of Inca civilization. Astronomy was intricately woven into the very fabric of Andean existence and daily life. Accordingly, the text takes a holistic approach to its research, considering first and foremost the cultural context of each astronomy-related site. The chapters necessarily start with a history of the Incas from the beginning of their empire through the completion of the conquest by Spain before diving into an astronomical and cultural analysis of many of the huacas found in the heart of the Inca Empire. Over 300 color images—original artwork and many photos captured during the author’s extensive field research in Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cusco, and elsewhere—are included throughout the book, adding visual insight to a rigorous examination of Inca astronomical sites and history.
Download or read book Cultural Astronomy of the Japanese Archipelago written by Akira Goto and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-19 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Goto introduces the diverse and multilayered skylore and cultural astron- omy of the peoples of the Japanese Archipelago. Going as far back as the Jomon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods, this book examines the significance of constellations in the daily life of farmers, fishermen, sailors, priests, and the ruling classes throughout Japan’s ancient and medieval history. As well as covering the systems of the dominant Japanese people, he also explores the astronomy of the Ainu people of Hokkaido, and of the people of the Ryukyu Islands. Along the way he discusses the importance of astronomy in official rituals, mythol- ogy, and Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies. This book provides a unique overview of cultural astronomy in Japan and is a valuable resource for researchers as well as anyone who is inter- ested in Japanese culture and history.
Download or read book Echoes of the Ancient Skies written by E. C. Krupp and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Power of Stars written by Bryan E. Penprase and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-05-05 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Completely revised and updated, this new edition provides a readable, beautifully illustrated journey through world cultures and the vibrant array of sky mythology, creation stories, models of the universe, temples and skyscrapers that each culture has created to celebrate and respond to the power of the night sky. Sections on the archaeoastronomy of South Asia and South East Asia have been expanded, with original photography and new research on temple alignments in Southern India, and new material describing the astronomical practices of Indonesia, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. Beautiful photographs of temples in India and Asia have been added, as well as new diagrams explaining the alignment of these structures and the astronomical underpinnings of temples within the Pallava and Chola cultures. From new fieldwork in the Four Corners region of North America, Dr. Penprase has included accounts of Pueblo skywatching and photographs of ceremonial kivas that help elucidate the rich astronomical knowledge of the Pueblo people. The popular “Archaeoastronomy of Skyscrapers” section of the book has been updated as well, with new interpretations of skyscrapers in Indonesia, Taiwan and China.With the rapid pace of discovery in astronomy and astrophysics, entirely new perspectives are emerging about dark matter, inflation and the future of the universe. The Power of Stars puts these discoveries in context and describes how they fit into the modern perspective of cosmology, which has arisen from the universal human response to the sky that has inspired both ancient and modern cultures.
Download or read book Cultural Astronomy In Latin America written by Steven Gullberg and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2024-02-06 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a unique view of Astronomy in Culture, Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy involving ancient civilizations in Latin America, emphasizing scientific and cultural knowledge combined with historical, cognitive, archaeological and anthropological aspects. Topics covered in the book include different associations of ancient civilizations with the stars and planets, whether in farming, architecture, social organization, beliefs, myths, religion, metric systems, calendar construction, shrines, and variations in astronomical research methods based on the types of material evidence available. Special attention is paid to the war cycles associated with observed celestial events, day-counting calendars, including movements in the sky and written evidences from codices, and in particular the Andean and Inca traditions of astronomically associated shrines, caves and celestial alignments of monuments and temples.
Download or read book Cosmos Culture written by Steven J. Dick and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From GPO Bookstore's Website: Authors with diverse backgrounds in science, history, anthropology, and more, consider culture in the context of the cosmos. How does our knowledge of cosmic evolution affect terrestrial culture? Conversely, how does our knowledge of cultural evolution affect our thinking about possible cultures in the cosmos? Are life, mind, and culture of fundamental significance to the grand story of the cosmos that has generated its own self-understanding through science, rational reasoning, and mathematics? Book includes bibliographical references and an index.
Download or read book Cosmic Order and Cultural Astronomy written by Rana Singh and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2009-10-02 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the Indian subcontinent there are territories and areas wherein culture, geography, and the archetypal cosmos interact with each other to create a sacredscape that is infused with meaning, cultural performances and transcendent power. These sacred sites possess extensive mythological associations where believed that spirit can cross between different realms. In a broad perspective such studies falls within the realm of cultural astronomy, which has two broad areas, viz. archaeoastronomy, concerned with the study of the use of astronomy and its role in ancient cultures and civilizations; and ethnoastronomy that studies the use of astronomy and its role in contemporary cultures. The seven essays in this volume deals with the critical appraisal of studying cultural astronomy and cosmic order and its implications in India, illustrated with case studies like heritagescape of Khajuraho, where stone speaks; manescape of Gaya, where manes come and bless the devotees; Deviscape of Vindhyachal, where goddess resorts; Shivascape of Kashi, where Shiva dances in making order; Shaktiscape of Kashi, that possesses the spatial ordering of goddesses; and Naturscape of Chitrakut, where mother earth blesses.
Download or read book The Astronomer s Chair written by Omar W. Nasim and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The astronomer’s observing chair as both image and object, and the story it tells about a particular kind of science and a particular view of history. The astronomer’s chair is a leitmotif in the history of astronomy, appearing in hundreds of drawings, prints, and photographs from a variety of sources. Nineteenth-century stargazers in particular seemed eager to display their observing chairs—task-specific, often mechanically adjustable observatory furniture designed for use in conjunction with telescopes. But what message did they mean to send with these images? In The Astronomer’s Chair, Omar W. Nasim considers these specialized chairs as both image and object, offering an original framework for linking visual and material cultures. Observing chairs, Nasim ingeniously argues, showcased and embodied forms of scientific labor, personae, and bodily practice that appealed to bourgeois sensibilities. Viewing image and object as connected parts of moral, epistemic, and visual economies of empire, Nasim shows that nineteenth-century science was represented in terms of comfort and energy, and that “manly” postures of Western astronomers at work in specialized chairs were contrasted pointedly with images of “effete” and cross-legged “Oriental” astronomers. Extending his historical analysis into the twentieth century, Nasim reexamines what he argues to be a famous descendant of the astronomer’s chair: Freud’s psychoanalytic couch, which directed observations not outward toward the stars but inward toward the stratified universe of the psyche. But whether in conjunction with the mind or the heavens, the observing chair was a point of entry designed for specialists that also portrayed widely held assumptions about who merited epistemic access to these realms in the first place. With more than 100 illustrations, many in color; flexibound.
