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The Franciscan complex of San Gabriel in Cholula was one of the first establishments of the order of minor friars in New Spain. Its buildings were erected on the ruins of the pre-Hispanic ritual complex dedicated to the god Quetzalcóatl, using the materials from the old temple and annex buildings. The particularity of the structures built by instruction of the Franciscans is that they do not follow the orientation of the layout of the Cholula city, which is apparently solstitial, and therefore has given rise to multiple speculations in the studies of Cholula. In the present investigation we show evidence that the Royal Chapel of the architectural complex has a temporal orientation coinciding with the so-called sacred orientation of Teotihuacan, while the convent temple presents an orientation that is difficult to interpret, but where one of the definitions of equinox and the date of the patron saint's holiday are possible explanations.

The Mississippian-era site of Cahokia was the largest Native American city north of Mexico. Archaeologists have long speculated about possible astronomic alignments and spatial relationships in the layout of its 100+ earthen mounds. In this paper LiDAR imagery, historic documents, ethnohistoric and archaeologic data are used to assess the site relative to astronomic and landscape alignments. New findings show how Monks, Rattlesnake, Powell and other mounds are aligned to the Sun, Moon, and Milky Way. Additionally, these alignments intersect prominent bluffs to the east and southeast that appear to have been used as horizon markers.

It has long been acknowledged that J. Norman Lockyer played a central role in the foundation of archaeoastronomy as a field in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His interest in “orientation” flourished on a visit to Egypt, where he became convinced that rigorous scientific methods could be used to prove archaeological theories concerning ancient religions.However, despite the promising prospect of a public intellectual entering the sparse discourse around archaeoastronomy, little happened to promote the discipline after the Egyptian expedition. Whilst Lockyer is often framed as a lonely figure working at the dawn of the field, newly digitised lantern slides from the Norman Lockyer Observatory archives reveal his extensive interactions with a dedicated network of British archaeoastronomical researchers. Lockyer’s work, along with that of his new community, came at a very unfortunate time. This paper seeks to explain why he was shunned by prominent archaeologists, and why the discourse around archaeoastronomy up until his time smothered Lockyer’s attempts to legitimize orientation.

In this paper we examine the orientation of Prasat Hin Phimai (an Angkorian-style Buddhist temple in Northeast Thailand) for its astronomical embodiment that could enrich the understanding of ancient culture and potentially date the temple. The obliquely-oriented Phimai Temple may have been aligned with an auspicious star observed relative to the Sun on the horizon, according to the ancient Indian Vastu Shastra principles of architecture. By comparing the azimuth of the temple, which was archaeoastronomically surveyed on-site, to that of stars estimated using precessional-corrected Stellarium, we discovered that only the Pleiades was aligned with the temple’s Eastern Gate at approximately 69.5° azimuth during the Khmer era. Further validation through traces of ethnoastronomy revealed that the Pleiades Full Moon Day (a Full Moon with the Pleiades) opposite the Sun in Scorpius may have been favored for aligning the temple, giving rise to an approximate period of orientation, and consequently the building of the original temple between 1007 and 1147 CE. These findings suggest a close connection with Mon Culture, a possible architect, and a potential patron. A New Year celebration and the entrance to the temple may have related to Agni, the presiding deity of the Pleiades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to explore the complex and evolving orientations of cathedrals in the Iberian Peninsula and associated islands, examining the interplay between cultural, religious, political and architectural influences. Employing temporal and cultural analyses alongside remote sensing tools like Google Earth and HeyWhatsThat to gather archaeoastronomical data, over a hundred structures have been documented, revealing diverse orientation patterns across centuries. The earliest cathedrals aligned predominantly with equinoctial orientations in accordance with canonical prescriptions. However, deviations to the northeast appear from the 13th century onward, challenging conventional explanations and suggesting the need for a more in-depth analysis. Results suggest that cathedrals might be oriented according to ancient Roman city planimetries, to the perpendicular of the most employed qiblas during Muslim rule, and, naturally, to the ancient Christian prescriptions. In this context, the research sheds light on the potential influence of regional idiosyncrasies and pre-existing structures in shaping cathedral orientations, emphasizing the necessity of considering diverse cultural influences. Finally, a pivotal turning point around the last Council of Trent (1563) and the Gregorian reform of the calendar (1582) is identified, marking a relaxation in orientation prescriptions. Overall, this research contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the intricate history of temple orientations in the Iberian Peninsula within a broader cultural and historical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building upon a pioneering 1909 survey of Moloka'i Island heiau (temples) by archaeologist John F. G. Stokes, the pre‐contact temple system of Hālawa Valley is described and analysed. Ten heiau were relocated and mapped, with seven sites test excavated and radiocarbon dated. The majority of sites are terraces or terraced platforms in architectural form, ranging in size from 72 to 1300 square meters in basal area. Functionally, the temples include fishing shrines (ko'a), agricultural or fertility temples (heiau ho'oulu'ai), and one luakini or temple of human sacrifice dedicated to the war god Kū. The orientations of the temple foundations appear to be deliberate (rather than dictated by topography). One group is slightly offset from cardinality and shows an eastward orientation, likely associated with the god Kāne. A second group exhibits an orientation to the ENE, which is the direction of the star cluster Makali'i (Pleiades), whose achronycal rising determined the onset of the Makahiki season dedicated to the god Lono. The radiocarbon dates indicate that the temples were constructed during the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, or the Archaic States Period of the Hawaiian cultural sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the great city of Tikal, the ancient Maya placed and oriented their ceremonial architecture and monuments in accordance with cosmological principles. Its earliest ceremonial plaza, the Mundo Perdido, is one of the oldest pre‐Classic E‐Groups of the Petén, the astronomical utility of which has been a topic of debate by archeologists and archaeoastronomers alike over the past century. In 1988, Aveni and Hartung surveyed the great temples of Tikal and revealed the relationship between their astronomical and dynastic aspects. Yet, over the intervening decades breakthroughs in the decipherment of the Maya glyphs have greatly increased our understanding of Tikal's dynastic history while interpretations in the field of archaeoastronomy have become more rigorous. For instance, more recent surveys and interpretations by Ŝprajc (2021a, 2021b) have demonstrated the importance of the Maya ritual calendar in the placement and orientation of ceremonial public architecture. The aim of this paper is to reassess this earlier fieldwork in archaeoastronomy, provide recent corroborative measurements of the orientation of key buildings, and provide a cohesive summation of the cosmological principles found in the design and construction of the city of Tikal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the field of archaeoastronomy and the challenges faced by researchers when analyzing and interpreting rock art. Rock art, such as pictographs and petroglyphs, can serve multiple meanings and applications, including as a memory map of the land and a representation of astronomical knowledge. However, without the contextual information provided by the creators of the art, it can be difficult to prove specific astronomical interpretations. The article emphasizes the importance of rigorous scholarship in archaeoastronomy to avoid the proliferation of pseudoscience and the perpetuation of unfounded claims. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the ongoing debate surrounding the interpretation of Stonehenge as a calendar. The debate began in the 1960s with the publication of "Stonehenge Decoded" and has resurfaced in 2023 with a new proposal suggesting that the arrangement of sarsen stones represents a solar calendar. Archaeoastronomers have critiqued this suggestion, calling for a multidisciplinary relationship with archaeologists. The article argues for transdisciplinary collaboration, highlighting the increasing recognition of the value of skyscapes within the cosmologies and lifeworlds of past peoples. The issue also includes research on the Nebra Sky Disc, Jewish religious practices, and the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, as well as book reviews and a conference review. [Extracted from the article]

"Solarizing the Moon: Essays in Honour of Lionel Sims" is a book that explores the relationship between prehistoric cultures and celestial phenomena. The editors, Fabio Silva and Liz Henty, aim to interpret the cultural significance of the sky and its impact on different societies. The book includes various case studies and theoretical discussions on topics such as the transition from lunar to solar-centric calendars, the role of gender dynamics in shaping skyscapes, and the importance of social structure in understanding ontologies. The authors emphasize the need for a multidisciplinary approach, combining archaeology, history, linguistics, folklore, and other methods to evaluate different claims. While the book presents diverse perspectives, it also encourages readers to critically evaluate and consider multiple sources of data. [Extracted from the article]

The current article examines the apparent lunar iconography engraved on a rhyolite pendant recovered from a 13th century AD, Fremont Indian pithouse village known as "Five Finger Ridge". Symbols etched into the pendant resemble the waxing crescent, full, and waning crescent moon, thirteen circles equating with the thirteen lunations that are commenced during the solar year, and nineteen grooves etched along the outer edge of the disk-shaped pendant. The paper cites archaeological, ethnographic, rock art, and mitochondrial DNA data certifying that the Fremont people were of Ancestral Puebloan ethnicity and are therefore culturally and genetically related to the occupants of the modern pueblos located in the states of New Mexico and Arizona, USA. Ethnographic data from the late 19th and early 20th centuries demonstrates that all Puebloan villages were agriculturally dependent, utilized a solar-lunar calendar, and several conceptualized the year as having thirteen lunar months. The authors utilize the ethnographic data to interpret the two crescents and centrally drilled hole as the waxing crescent, full, and waning crescent moon, and the thirteen etched circles as full moons representing the thirteen-month lunar calendar reckoned at several historic pueblos. Finally, the paper proffers excavated exotic trade goods (olivella shells, turquoise) to demonstrate that the Fremont people of Five Finger Ridge were involved in long-distance trading relationships with Ancestral Puebloan communities that possessed unequivocal knowledge of the 18.61-year Major Lunar Standstill. From this the authors conclude that the pendant’s nineteen grooves represent the nineteen solar years needed for the completion of a Major Lunar Standstill cycle, wisdom they learned from long-distance trade relationships with Ancestral Puebloan people that were cognizant of this lunar circuit.

New geometrical, photographic, topographic, and astronomical evidence is presented that links the architectural plan of the earthworks to the lunar standstills, solstices, and local terrain. The data are integrated with previous research to form a comprehensive interpretation of the site. Analysis shows that all eight sides of the Octagon can be used for observations of the 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle. The locations of obliterated earthwork features are established using historic aerial photos and maps. Solstice/standstill alignments are documented and support the Hively-Horn TAG hypothesis. When at its zenith during the Hopewell epoch, the Milky Way is shown to have intersected the horizon at the extreme rise/set points of the Moon at the major standstill. The scale, precision, and sophistication of the encoding of standstill/solstice alignments in the earthwork design and in its relation to the surrounding terrain is an achievement of the Hopewell builders with no known precedent in the prehistoric world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed, from a cultural astronomy perspective, the relationship between the orientations of five mound sites and different astronomical events in the lowland region of Uruguay. We found significant relationships between the orientations of the mounds and the Southern Cross/Milky Way and the full Moon during the winter solstice ca. 3000 years BP. These relationships, meanings and senses to different native peoples of South America were explored from the literature of travelers' and naturalists' chronicles, alongside the ethnohistorical, ethnographic and archaeological literature. In particular, we highlighted the link among those peoples of the area of the Southern Cross/ Milky Way with a mythical Ñandú (Rhea americana). Such an interpretation has allowed us to raise the possibility that we are being faced with the integration of knowledge of the sky in the form of the social construction of inhabited space and the configuration of the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prehistoric astronomical observatories include a specific type of rock-cut monuments from the Mountainous Thrace in Bulgaria, with a specific shape and orientation in space, which are part of the characteristic representatives of the archeoastronomical sites on the Balkan Peninsula from the period of 4000–4500 BCE. Earlier societies focused on the triad "astronomical instrument"—celestial objects—trained observers. When choosing sites for the construction of oriented stone complexes for astronomical observations, prehistoric people were interested in the number of clear days and nights within the tropical year, which is connected with the paleoclimate of the region and to the astroclimate, which determines the possibility of observing heavenly bodies. Here we examine 13 prehistoric astronomical observatories using the methods of archaeoastronomy in order to determine the period of their operation. Since the existence of a large number of such objects is indirect evidence of a good astroclimate, we make an assessment of the paleoclimate in the relevant era in the Bulgarian lands in order to find out if it was suitable for astronomical observations. The estimations are made according to the geological data and solar insolation luminescence proxy records of the evolution of cave speleothems from Duhlata cave in the village of Bosnek, Pernik municipality, which is still the only available experimental record of past solar insolation in Europe covering the last 20,000 years. The number of clear days and nights are estimated, and a critical assessment of the possibility of successful observations of the Sun during equinoxes and solstices is made using the methods of "horizon" astronomy and meridional culminations. It is also shown that the climate at the end of the Ice Age was cooler than today. About 11,700 years ago (11,700 radiocarbon years before 1950 CE or 11,700 BP), the climate began to warm, and forest vegetation developed on the territory liberated from the glaciers. During the Upper Atlantic (6–8 thousand years BCE), the average annual temperature on the Balkan Peninsula and in particular in Bulgaria was about 2–2.5 °C higher than it is today. This climate allows some very good astroclimatic conditions for observations of the Sun near the horizon and increases the accuracy of the observational data in determining the time of occurrence in its extreme positions on the horizon. We show that changes in climate (and astroclimate accordingly) influence the type of prehistoric astronomical observatories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the prehistorical development that at the time of the great Greek thinkers preceded the present definition of “science”. The present well-known paradoxes of theoretical physics (relativity and quantum mechanics) can be overcome if one assumes that “absolute” reality is represented by a “timeless” world, while “time” and “antitime” are occasional additional features that characterize “world” and “antiworld”. “World” and “antiworld” are, respectively, the realm of “matter” and “antimatter” etc. A set of five previous papers deals with the devoted full discussion of the improved axiomatic formulation of theoretical physics. The present paper illustrates a prehistorical background of the crucial concept of “time”, in the Western, Eastern (Hindu), and Far Eastern worlds. The main pertinent focus is on a prehistorical strong debate, which preceded the classic Greek world at the time when unknown and astute thinkers debated and wrote the Bible and the ancient books of Hinduism. The impressive result is that the concept of a timeless world was a concern that survived at least until the III century AD. Conversely, the present generally agreed feeling about “absolute” time finally prevailed - and became accepted like an unconscious and innate concept. The ancient “timeless” concept later survived in some ascetic thinkers, theologians, and in some popular beliefs – that were originally proposed as a simple way to explain some subtle concepts to the man-of-the-street. The whole discussion has some profound implication on the same meaning of “science”, including crucial ethical constraints. For comparison purpose, also the Far East concept of “time” is considered according to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The centuriations were public lands delimited and divided in regular lots by Rome as a result of the conquest but also the conceptual appropriation of new territories, which were transformed according to particular ideas of space. Despite previous works rejecting the astronomical hypothesis for the orientation of Roman centuriations, recent publications have supported the role of particular astronomical phenomena in the design of Roman land and urbanism in Italy. The aim of this work is to determine whether the orientation of the centuriations follows any pattern, and to determine the precepts, if any, underlying the election of privileged directions. We present a statistical study of the orientation of 67 centuriations in Italy—the largest sample of this type ever studied in this region—that considers the conditions of the surrounding environment together with a comparative analysis with a dataset of the same type that includes 52 Italian Roman towns. The results show interesting patterns shared by both centuriations and towns, some of them coinciding with relevant astronomical events in the Roman context, together with others in which differentrequirements would have been prioritized. In summary, we should consider the sky as an element involved in the creation of Roman urban and rural spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of Prehistoric dry-stone monuments are ubiquitous in Western Sahara, a region delimited by the boundaries of the former Spanish colony. With either burial or ritual functions, these monuments are spread throughout the Sahara Desert creating sacred landscapes and housing the memory of millennia of occupation. Previous research has explored the role of the sky in various aspects of the life of early inhabitants, such as their religious beliefs or funerary practices. These have been identified by the patterns of location and orientation of these constructions and their relation to particular astronomical events. This work presents a statistical analysis of the orientation of more than 200 prehistoric dry-stone monuments in Western Sahara occupied by Morocco, currently the biggest sample ever studied in this area and the first unique sample obtained in situ. The results show that the orientations follow similar trends observed in other areas of North Africa and the Mediterranean and that they fit with the visibility of particular celestial objects. This provides new insights into the ideas about space, time, and death and the cultural changes and mobility of those peoples and contributes to the preservation of a highly threatened heritage that is immersed in a vast land currently under dispute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of an analysis of the precise spatial orientation of colonial Christian churches located in the Canary Island of Fuerteventura (Spain). Our sample consists of 48 churches, most built during the period between the Castilian conquest led by the Norman Jean de Béthencourt in the early fifteenth century and the end of the nineteenth century. While most of the religious constructions in the sample have their main axes oriented within the solar range, in accordance with tradition, the statistical analysis also reveals the presence of two groups of churches that diverge from due east. For the first group, mainly composed of churches located in the central part of the island, an anomalous tendency of orientation towards a declination of c. −14° was detected. We provide four possible explanations for this: (1) orientation to coincide with sunrise on the date of a traditional Canarian celebration; (2) the influence of topography; (3) sunset orientations; and (4), more controversially, a “bright star” orientation close to the declination of Sirius during the seventeenth century, drawing on ethnographic data. For the second group, meanwhile, we find a pattern of orientation slightly to the north of due east. We propose this might signal orientation to the rising Sun on dates close to Easter Sunday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Complutum is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Spal: Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Sevilla is the property of Spal. Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Sevilla and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The contemporary trend of research projects and works are presented on selective issues of archaeometry, archaeology and Egyptology. The current status in research in the area of SE Mediterranean on cultural heritage and archaeological/historical reflections alone and/or coupled with archaeological sciences of eleven papers are placed within an updated frame. The results concern a variety of selected topics critically presented. The topics touch on the cultural astronomy, the ancient textiles and masonries and the physico-chemical and biological investigations, the socio-political issues of Egyptian Ramesside era, revisiting the inscription of an Egyptian statuette, and the valuable information extracted from rock graffiti in north Kharga, Egypt.

According to many historical records, 1P/Halley comet was reported to appear in 760 AD. In the same year in Indonesia, the Dinoyo inscription told us the story of the Kanjuruhan kingdom which held a Vedic ceremony to purify a new shrine and statue of Agastya to repel enemy forces (or dispel the epidemic). Many traditions believe that the appearance of a comet is a sign of war, plague/epidemic, death, etc. By applying this understanding to the archaeoastronomical framework, the hypothesis is proposed, that the king's order which was written on the inscription shows the response to the 1P/Halley comet appearance in 760 AD. There are three ways to examine the hypothesis: by testing the chronological, geographical, and cultural aspects. Through some literature studies and the Stellarium Astronomy Software simulation, the initial research found that the chronological and geographical aspects support the hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article examines a 90 cm. tall, prehistoric Native American pictograph painted in red ochre which depicts a red Anthropomorph wearing a “V”-shaped headdress. For a seven-day period at the summer solstice the face and headdress of the red Anthropomorph are illuminated with sunlight. The authors proffer photographic, archaeological, and iconographic evidence confirming that the pictograph was made by the prehistoric, agriculturally-reliant Fremont culture of Utah (USA) circa AD 1100 – 1300, and that it was indeed a summer solstice indicator. Because genetic and cultural data verify that some Fremont people were ancestors to the Native Americans that occupy the modern pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico, we gather late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century ethnography from the latter pueblos to show that the summer solstice marked a major shift in agrarian practices—from field preparation and sowing to rain-making and crop fruition. Additional rock art iconography associates the red “Anthropomorph-with-V-shaped-headdress” motif with headhunting, a practice that, according to Pueblo Indian ethnography, was necessary for rain-making and abundant harvests. We then trace this historic Pueblo Indian conception to prehistoric head-taking pictographs aligned with the summer solstice and the seasonal shift it signaled towards rain-making through ritualized headhunting.

In 1952, Professor Gheorghe Chiş from the Astronomical Institute together with the academician Constantin Daicoviciu initiated the idea of the existence of a Dacian calendar by deciphering the sanctuaries in the capital of Dacia at Sarmizegetusa Regia, and thus laying the foundations of Archaeoastronomy in Romania. This interdisciplinary branch has expanded over time due to new excavations, which have created to more detailed research, as it has led some researchers to think about the need to describe numerical calculation methods based on some huge databases. The School of Cultural Astronomy from Cluj-Napoca was founded by scientists from the Romanian Academy, the Institute and Astronomical Observatory of Cluj-Napoca, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, the History Museum and the Ethnographic Museum. These innovative researches from Cluj were supported and diversified within the “Tiberiu Popoviciu” Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory, where many ideas crystallized and working hypotheses were elaborated, attracting, almost from all over the country, enthusiastic researchers. The diversity of research topics addressed over the years in archaeoastronomy are presented, and at the end of the article is presented a pilot project of a Neolithic astronomical observatory in the Experimental Ethno-archaeological Park of Ţaga, to demonstrate the existence of Neolithic Solar Cult, knowledge about Heaven and the movement of the stars, in establishing the agro-pastoral calendar, as well as for knowing the construction and operation of the annual calendar and the day and night clock.

Sacred kings of Late Iron Age northern Britain are thought to have symbolised fertility and considered responsible for the wellbeing of the lands and people; components of a system of governance maintained by conservative religious beliefs and champions of a local goddess of sovereignty, also associated with the cuckoo and the planet Venus. Their regicide was undertaken by their successors with a sacred spear at cult-sites at eight-year intervals when Venus set at its evening extreme at Samhain. Titled after the cuckoo, the symbol of male fertility across Europe, they mimicked the cuckoo's polygynous behaviour. Others have suggested their exploits were based on myths about the cuckoo. They are recalled in Irish legends, Arthurian tales and the writings of contemporary authors, depicted on stones and confirmed in recent place-name and archaeoastronomy studies, but not previously recognised. This paper explores the evidence for, and significance of, British, Irish and continental European warrior-champions named after the cuckoo. The study strongly suggests a continuity of cosmological beliefs, celestial associations, myths and legends, religious symbolism, sacred kingship and governance of tribal societies from the Indo-European immigrants to Britain until the adoption of Christianity and its associated form of kingship by the Picts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Google Earth Pro (GEP) is a powerful tool that can be used for archaeoastronomic and landscape archaeology assessments. Of potential concern, however, is the accuracy of the GEP ruler tool and, in particular, the accuracy of heading information. In the present paper the accuracy of GEP heading information is evaluated. Comparative assessments are made using GEP imagery, airport runway diagrams and ground survey data derived from total station solar observations. These analyses indicate that the accuracy of GEP heading data is largely dependent on spatial resolution of the GEP image and length of the line being measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient Gaul was transformed during the reign of Augustus (r. 31 BC-14 AD) through a major programme of city building. The new Roman cities were constructed according to topographic, health and ritual considerations, and we hypothesise that their orientations also reflect distinct celestial conceptions held by the Gauls and by the Roman emperor Augustus. Our study of the orientation of 60 cities verifies the existence of coherent patterns, and distinguishes two dominant schemes: a pattern prevailing in the south and focused on cardinal orientations, possibly related to the dies natalis of Augustus; and a pattern dominant in the north, focused on the dates of the festivities at the beginning of the seasons from the Celtic tradition. We argue that the orientation of the cities was used by the Gallic elites to express the validity of their cultural tradition when they became a part of the Roman Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Spal: Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Sevilla is the property of Spal. Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Sevilla and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article is considered astronomical and calendarian meaning of the petroglyth on the overlapping of the dolmen "Dudugush-1". As shown enclosing in the circle the branches of the saltire note the key points of the year solar cycle (sunrises and sunsets in the winter and summer solstice) and the angles between them on the horizon match extreme points of sunrises (sunsets) at the latitude of the monument. Seven holes arranged in 2 rows in the eastern part of the petroglyph show geliokalny rising of the Pleiades in the vernal equinox and (or) the evening sunrise in the the autumnal equinox. In a similar way the Pleiades were showed in many cultures at different times since the Paleolithic. The hole on the west side notes of particular importance in terms sunset at equinox. In this article there are also the image of the Pleiades in other monuments of dolmen culture and possible value in the culture of the builders of dolmens of the constellations Taurus and Orion. Such an interpretation of signs is reliably confirmed the orientation and location of monuments in space significant numbers of calendar in the ranks of the ornament and designs themselves are dolmens way macrocosm

The Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, is famous worldwide due to the magnificent temple of Heliopolitan Jupiter at Baalbek. In recent years, new research revived the interest in the unsolved problems posed by the Baalbek monuments, including original dating and construction phases, relationships with the landscape, and nature of the cult practiced. In a preliminary paper, we used archaeoastronomy to propose that the project of the Temple of Jupiter was a unified one conceived under Herod the Great, and that the cult was strongly connected to the renewal of the seasonal cycles. Here, we extend and confirm this analysis considering the other temples of the Baalbek proper and the three prominent sanctuaries which lie in the Bekaa Valley on the way to Baalbek from Berytus, showing the existence of an orientation custom which appears to originate in Baalbek and to inform all these sacred places.

We analyzed, from a cultural astronomy perspective, the relationship between the orientations of five mound sites and different astronomical events in the lowland region of Uruguay. We found significant relationships between the orientations of the mounds and the Southern Cross/Milky Way and the full Moon during the winter solstice ca. 3000 years BP. These relationships, meanings and senses to different native peoples of South America were explored from the literature of travelers’ and naturalists’ chronicles, alongside the ethnohistorical, ethnographic and archaeological literature. In particular, we highlighted the link among those peoples of the area of the Southern Cross/ Milky Way with a mythical Ñandú (Rhea americana). Such an interpretation has allowed us to raise the possibility that we are being faced with the integration of knowledge of the sky in the form of the social construction of inhabited space and the configuration of the landscape.

The Angel Mounds site was a large, fortified Mississippian village located in southwestern Indiana. The site flourished from circa AD 1100 to AD 1450 and represents one of the largest recorded Mississippian settlements in the Ohio River valley. In this article, we use astronomic data, lidar imagery, ethnohistoric data, and computer planetarium simulations to identify solar, stellar, and lunar alignments at the site. Of special interest are new findings showing how mound axes are oriented to the Milky Way on the night of the summer solstice. In traditional Eastern Woodlands belief, the Milky Way was the path that souls of the dead traveled on their journey to the Land of the Dead. Supportive of the findings for Angel are similar Milky Way alignments at Moundville, Alabama, and Cahokia, Illinois. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary trend of research projects and works are presented on selective issues of archaeometry, archaeology and Egyptology. The current status in research in the area of SE Mediterranean on cultural heritage and archaeological/historical reflections alone and/or coupled with archaeological sciences of eleven papers are placed within an updated frame. The results concern a variety of selected topics critically presented. The topics touch on the cultural astronomy, the ancient textiles and masonries and the physico-chemical and biological investigations, the socio-political issues of Egyptian Ramesside era, revisiting the inscription of an Egyptian statuette, and the valuable information extracted from rock graffiti in north Kharga, Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Milky Way is undoubtedly a spectacular presence in the sky, there must have been some other strong cultural influence to underline this concrete Earth-sky connection. In this forum I want to provide a brief introduction to the possible role played by the Milky Way in the design and use of the ceremonial sites of the British Isles of the fourth and third millennia BC, and how such a role might be found reflected in mythology. Renouf explains that "[t]he Stream which is so conspicuous but cannot be reached is the Milky Way, and the Leg is the constellation Cassiopeia in the Northern Sky" (Renouf 1904, 166). [Extracted from the article]

This type of class is frequent in the daily conformation of categories, and "genealogical" classes are an example of polythetic classes. In this way, for example, comparing the concrete realisations in a similar social context of "Milky Way astronomies" and of other similarly conceived classes of "astronomies" (such as "ecliptical" or "equatorial") would allow the researcher to identify specific factors of each one of these classes of "astronomies". In some sense "Milky Way astronomies" as a theoretical construct may seem similar to "tropical astronomy" (Aveni 1981). The Milky Way is a feature of the night sky that has had cosmological significance in many cultures around the world at different times. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this survey, according to Boutsikas, is "to understand the function of temples in relation to astronomy and the environment (land- and skyscape) within which they are situated" (p. 32). Considering Boutsikas' expertise in archaeoastronomy, it was disappointing to read her rather terse, inaccurate and unsophisticated definition of it, for according to her, as "a term, archaeoastronomy describes the study of the sky in past societies" (p. 5). Although the author does engage in a critical analysis of the methodological application of archaeoastronomy, one is left to wonder whether such analysis is of any use if the underlying understanding of the driving methodology of the study is disoriented and inaccurate. Due to the inconclusive results of her extensive statistical survey, Boutsikas infers that there must be some other "meaningful connection between structures, cult performance, experience, and astronomy" (p. 70). [Extracted from the article]