Archaeoastronomy: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively ← Previous edit Next edit →Content deleted Content addedVisual WikitextInline

Revision as of 00:50, 11 April 2006 editTuskloose (talk \| contribs)7 edits →Some Old World sites where archaeoastronomy is being explored ← Previous edit		Revision as of 10:59, 29 April 2006 edit undoAlunsalt (talk \| contribs)526 edits Major re-write of the archaeoastronomy entry. See talk page for details.Next edit →
Line 1:		Line 1:
			{{RRevised}}
	'''Archaeoastronomy''' (also spelled '''Archeoastronomy''') is the study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilizing archaeological and anthropological evidence. Archaeoastronomy examines archaeological sites for evidence of astronomy in remote cultures, and anthropological and ethnohistorical evidence for evidence of astronomical practices in living cultures. The study of the astronomies of living traditional cultures is sometimes called Ethnoastronomy. Archaeoastronomy also focuses on modern astronomy, employing historical records of early astronomical observations to study past astronomical events, and employing astronomical data to clarify the historical record.

			] at the ] Summer ]]]'''Archaeoastronomy''' (also spelled '''Archeoastronomy''') is the study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilising ] and ] evidence. It is closely associated with sister disciplines Ethnoastronomy, the study of astronomical practice in contemporary societies and ], the use of historical records of heavenly events to answer astronomical problems. Another similar discipline is ] which uses written records to evaluate prior astronomical traditions.
	In the study of solar, lunar, and stellar alignments of monuments, numerous claims have been made that the ], such as ], ] and ], represent "ancient observatories," but the extent and nature of their use in that regard needs careful definition. Certainly, they are aligned with particular significance to the solstitial points.

			It is most frequently mentioned with astronomical claims regarding ] or the ].
	The early development of this aspect of archaeoastronomy was influenced by ] studies of megalithic monuments of Britain, published in '']'' (Oxford, 1967). Thom employed detailed surveys and statistical methods to investigate the calendric and astronomical functions of numerous Neolithic monuments. He claimed that these monuments incorporate alignments to points on the horizon where the sun and moon rise and set at seasonal extremes like midsummer, midwinter and the equinoxes. In addition to his work on Neolithic astronomy, he also proposed the ] as a standardized unit of measure. Although his work greatly influenced the development of archaeoastronomy, many of his conclusions (especially those implying highly precise observations) have been widely questioned.

			==History of Archaeoastronomy==
	Anthropological and ethnohistorical methods have been used to study astronomies in a wide range of cultures. Typical studies have examined the astronomical and calendric practices of the ] and ] of the Southwestern United States; the astronomy and cosmology of the Andean villagers of Misminay; the calendrical and divinatory practices of modern ] priests, and the ambiguous ] of the ] of southwestern Ethiopia.
			Archaeoastronomy is arguably almost as old as archaeology itself. ] was arguably the first archaeoastronomer working at the end of the ] and the start of the ]. His studies included an examinations of Egyptian temples in ''The Dawn of Astronomy'' in ] and of Stonehenge published as ''Stonehenge and Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered'' in ]. Some archaeologists followed. ] published extensively in the '']'' on the astronomical alignment of ]s in the ] in the same period. Archaeoastronomy was, for a while, a respectable subject. The first issue of the archaeological journal ] includes an article on archaeoastronomical research<ref>A.P. Trotter, , '']'' Vol 1:1, ], 42-53</ref>.

			] in Co.] in an attempt to find statistical patterns]]In the ] interest in archaeoastronomy waned until the ] when the astronomer ] proposed that Stonehenge was a ] computer. Around the same time the engineer ] published his survey results of ]ic sites also proposed widespread practice of accurate astronomy in the British Isles. The claims of Hawkins were largely dismissed<ref>], , '']'' Vol 49:159, ], 212-6</ref>. However, Thom's analysis continued to pose a problem. A re-evaluation of Thom's fieldwork showed that his claims of high accuracy astronomy were not fully supported by the evidence. Nevertheless there was evidence of widespread interest in astronomy associated with megalithic sites. The response from archaeologists was tepid. A few archaeologists such as Euan MacKie accepted Thom’s conclusions and published new prehistories of Britain<ref>E. MacKie, ''Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain'', St Martin’s Press, ], ISBN 023640041X</ref>. Until the early ] most archaeoastronomical research in the United Kingdom was concerned with establishing the existence astronomical alignments in prehistoric sites by ] means rather than the social practice of astronomy in ancient times.
	Archaeoastronomy has also considered the extensive records of ancient China for references to "guest stars". "Guest stars," or star-like objects which appeared in the ], were of great interest to the observers of ancient China and were often dutifully recorded. These events have been associated with many transitory phenomena, such as ]s and, particularly, ]e. Besides the insights such records provide into the significance of celestial phenomena in ancient cultures, they have also been found useful by modern astronomers.

			] sites such as ] were built in accordance with astronomical alignments]]In the ] anthropologists began to more fully consider the role of astronomy in ] societies. This approach had access to sources that the ] of Europe lacks such as ] and the ] records of the early ]. This allowed New World archaeoastronomers to make claims for motives which in the Old World would have been mere speculation. The concentration on historical data led to some claims of high accuracy comparatively weak when compared to the statistically led investigations in Europe.
	== Some Old World sites where archaeoastronomy is being explored ==
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ], the ''Grand Menhir Brisé''
	* ]
	* ]
	* ], raising methodological issues
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ] and other structures apparently aligned to astronomical bodies and/or events

			This came to a head at an ] meeting in ] in ]. The ] and research questions of the participants were considered so different that the conference proceedings were published as two volumes<ref>C.L.N. Ruggles, ''Archaeoastronomy in the 1990s'', Group D Publications. ], ix, ISBN 1874152012</ref>. Nevertheless the conference was considered a success in bringing researchers together and Oxford conferences continue around four or five years at locations around the world. The subsequent conferences have resulted in a move to more interdisciplinary approaches with researchers aiming to combine the contextuality of archaeological research<ref>A.F. Aveni, ''World Archaeoastronomy'', ], ], xi-xiii, ISBN 0521341809</ref>, which broadly describes the state of archaeoastronomy today. Rather than merely establishing the existence of ancient astronomies archaeoastronomers seek to explain why people would have an interest in the night sky.
	== Some New World sites where archaeoastronomy is being explored ==
	* ], City of the Sun.
	* ], cardinal orientatons, meridian alignment, inter-pueblo alignments
	* ], the caracol
	* ], zenith tube
	* ], the pecked-cross circles as survey-markers
	* ], Venus alignment of the "Governor's Palace"
	* ], zenith tube
	* Many Maya sites that have an E Group (see ] section on E Groups)
	* ], the Kalasasaya and its alignments

			==Major topics of Archaeoastronomical research==
	== Some artifacts that throw light on archaeoastronomy ==
			===The Use of Calendars===
	* ]s based on ] observations
			] ''']''' replica in ], cast from the original to be found in the ]. A religious artefact showing how the ] people thought about time.]] A common justification for the need for astronomy is the need to develop an accurate ] for ] reasons. Ancient texts like ]’s Works and Days, an ancient farming manual, would appear to contradict this. Instead astronomical observations are used in combination with ] signs, such as ] to determine the seasons. Ethnoastronomical work with the ] of ] shows that haphazard astronomy continued until recent times in some parts of the world<ref>D. Turton and C.L.N. Ruggles, , ''Current Anthropology'' Vol. 19.3, ], 585-600</ref>. All the same, calendars appear to be an almost universal phenomenon in societies as the provide tools for the regulation of people.
	* ]
	* ]

			An example of a non-agricultural calendar is the Mayan Tzolkin which is a cycle of 260 days. This count is based on an earlier calendar and is found throughout Mesoamerica. This formed part of a more comprehensive Maya Calendar which combined a series of astronomical observations and ritual cycles<ref>A.F. Aveni, ''Empires of Time'', Basic Books, ], ISBN 0465019501</ref>.
⚫	== References ==
	* Clive Ruggles, ''Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland''
	* ''Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture''

			Other peculiar calendars include ancient ]. These were nominally ], starting with the ]. In reality the calendar could paused or days skipped with confused citizens inscribing dates by both the civic calendar and ''ton theoi'', by the ]<ref>S. McCluskey, The Inconstant Moon: Lunar Astronomies in Different Cultures, ''Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture'' Vol 15. ], 14-31</ref>. The lack of any universal calendar for ancient Greece suggests that coordination of panhellenic events such as ] or rituals could be difficult and that astronomical symbolism may have been used as a politically neutral form of timekeeping<ref>A. Salt and E. Boutsikas, . '']'' Vol 79:305, ], 562-72</ref>.
⚫	== External ~~links~~ ==

	*
			===Myth and Cosmology===
	* , a Review of Contemporary Understandings of Prehispanic Astronomic Knowledge.
			] drawn by Johannes Hevelius in 1690.]]Another motive for studying the ] is to understand and explain the ]. In pre-scientific times ] was a tool for achieving this and the explanations, while not ], are ].
	* , the area of study encompassing prehistoric and ancient place determination, point positioning, navigation (on land or water), astronomy and measure and representation of the earth.

	* , Ancient Monuments Spherical Trigonometry Calculator, an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet featuring hundreds of ancient monuments.
			The ]s arranged their empire to demonstrate their cosmology. The capital, ], was at the centre of the empire and connected to it by means of ceques, conceptually straight lines radiating out from the centre<ref>B. Bauer and D. Dearborn, ''Astronomy and empire in the ancient Andes: the cultural origins of Inca sky watching'', University of Texas, ], ISBN 0292708378</ref>. These ceques connected the centre of the empire to the four ''suyus'', which were regions defined by their direction from Cusco. The notion of a quartered cosmos is common across the ]. Gary Urton, who has conducted fieldwork in the Andean villagers of Misminay, has connected this quartering with the appearance of the ] in the night sky<ref>G. Urton, ''At the crossroads of the earth and the sky: an Andean cosmology'', University of Texas. ], ISBN 029270349X</ref>. In one season it will bisect the sky and in another bisect it in a ] fashion.
	* , an Excel spreadsheet for calculating temporally variable astronomic constants.

			The importance of observing cosmological factors is also seen on the other side of the world. The ] in ] is laid out to follow cosmic order though rather than observing four directions the Chinese saw five, ], ], ], ] and ]. The Forbidden City occupied the centre of ancient Beijing<ref>], ''Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings'', John Wiley and Sons, ], 196-9, ISBN 0471329754</ref>. One approaches the Emperor from the south, thus placing him in front of the ]. This creates the situation of the heavens revolving around the person of the Emperor. The Chinese cosmology is now better known through its export as ].

			There is also much information about how the universe was thought to work stored in the mythology of the ]s. The Barasana of the ] plan part of their annual cycle based on observation of the stars. When their constellation of the Caterpillar-Jaguar falls they prepare to catch the pupating caterpillars of the forest as they fall from the trees<ref>M. Hoskin, ''The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy'', ], ], 15-6, ISBN 0521576008</ref>. This provides planning for food procurement at a time when hunger could otherwise be a problem.

			A more well-known source of constellation myth are the texts of the Greeks and Romans. The origin of their constellations remains a matter of continuing and occasionally fractious debate.

			===Displays of Power===
			] is believed to have been designed as an astronomic clock by the Incas, while some have speculated about the site's possible ] role]]The most common popular image of archaeoastronomy is the expression of hidden knowledge and power. By using stellar symbolism one can make claims of heavenly power.

			By including celestial motifs in clothing it becomes possible for the wearer to make claims the power on Earth is drawn from above. It has been said that the Shield of ] described by ] is also a catalogue of constellations<ref>R. Hannah, . ''Electronic Antiquity'' II.4, ], 15-6</ref>. In North America shields depicted in ] ] appear to include Venus symbolism<ref>], ''Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings'', John Wiley and Sons, ], 252-3, ISBN 0471329754</ref>.

			] alignments also can be seen as displays of power. In Egypt the temple of ] at ] has been the subject of much study. Evaluation of the site, taking into account the change over time of the ] show that the Great Temple was aligned on the rising of the midwinter sun<ref>], Light in the Temples, ''Records in Stone: Papers in Memory of Alexander Thom'', ed. C.L.N. Ruggles, ], 473-499, ISBN 0521333814</ref>. The length of the corridor down which sunlight would travel would have limited illumination at other times of the year.

			In a later period the ] in ] was also said to have contained a ] alignment so that, on a specific sunrise, a shaft of light would pass across the lips of the statue of ] thus symbolising the ] saluting the god<ref>], </ref>.

			The use of astronomy at ] continues to be a matter of vigorous discussion.

			==Archaeoastronomical Organisations and publications==
			There are currently two academic organisations for scholars of archaeoastronomy. ISAAC - the International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture was founded in ] and is associated with ''Archaeoastronomy – the Journal of Astronomy in Culture''. SEAC - La Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture is slightly older being created in ]. This holds annual conferences in ] and published refereed conference proceedings on an annual basis.

			Additionally the ''Journal for the History of Astronomy'' publishes many archaeoastronomical papers. For twenty-seven volumes it also published an annual supplement ''Archaeoastronomy''.

		⚫	==References==
			<references/>

			==See also==
			* ] Sites where claims for the use of astronomy have been made.

		⚫	==External Links==
			* A Thinkquest website surveying archaeoastronomical sites across the world.
	* bibliography and synopsis of his course at ]		* bibliography and synopsis of his course at ]
	* , The International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture.		* , The International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture.
			* La Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture. Site in English.
	*
	*
	* - An essay exploring ancient astronomy, myths of the Deluge and the mythical stories of mankind's past and future
	* - NASA and others exploring the world's ancient observatories.
	* - Satellite pictures of ancient observatories.		* - Satellite pictures of ancient observatories.
	* - ~~essays~~ ~~about~~ ancient ~~astronomy~~.		* - NASA and others exploring the world's ancient observatories.

	]		]
			]
			]
	]		]
	]		]

Revision as of 10:59, 29 April 2006

This article or section recently underwent a major revision or rewrite and may need further review. You can help Misplaced Pages by assisting in the revision. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template.
This article was last edited by Alunsalt (talk | contribs) 18 years ago. (Update timer)

Archaeoastronomy (also spelled Archeoastronomy) is the study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilising archaeological and anthropological evidence. It is closely associated with sister disciplines Ethnoastronomy, the study of astronomical practice in contemporary societies and Historical Astronomy, the use of historical records of heavenly events to answer astronomical problems. Another similar discipline is History of Astronomy which uses written records to evaluate prior astronomical traditions.

It is most frequently mentioned with astronomical claims regarding Stonehenge or the pyramids of Egypt.

History of Archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is arguably almost as old as archaeology itself. Norman Lockyer was arguably the first archaeoastronomer working at the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth. His studies included an examinations of Egyptian temples in The Dawn of Astronomy in 1894 and of Stonehenge published as Stonehenge and Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered in 1906. Some archaeologists followed. Francis Penrose published extensively in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society on the astronomical alignment of Greek temples in the Mediterranean in the same period. Archaeoastronomy was, for a while, a respectable subject. The first issue of the archaeological journal Antiquity includes an article on archaeoastronomical research.

Early archaeoastronomy began by surveying alignments of Megalithic stones in the British Isles and sites like Auglish in Co.Derry in an attempt to find statistical patterns

In the British Isles interest in archaeoastronomy waned until the 1960s when the astronomer Gerald Hawkins proposed that Stonehenge was a Neolithic computer. Around the same time the engineer Alexander Thom published his survey results of megalithic sites also proposed widespread practice of accurate astronomy in the British Isles. The claims of Hawkins were largely dismissed. However, Thom's analysis continued to pose a problem. A re-evaluation of Thom's fieldwork showed that his claims of high accuracy astronomy were not fully supported by the evidence. Nevertheless there was evidence of widespread interest in astronomy associated with megalithic sites. The response from archaeologists was tepid. A few archaeologists such as Euan MacKie accepted Thom’s conclusions and published new prehistories of Britain. Until the early 1980s most archaeoastronomical research in the United Kingdom was concerned with establishing the existence astronomical alignments in prehistoric sites by statistical means rather than the social practice of astronomy in ancient times.

It has been proposed that Maya sites such as Uxmal were built in accordance with astronomical alignments

In the New World anthropologists began to more fully consider the role of astronomy in Amerindian societies. This approach had access to sources that the prehistory of Europe lacks such as ethnographies and the historical records of the early colonisers. This allowed New World archaeoastronomers to make claims for motives which in the Old World would have been mere speculation. The concentration on historical data led to some claims of high accuracy comparatively weak when compared to the statistically led investigations in Europe.

This came to a head at an IAU meeting in Oxford in 1981. The methodologies and research questions of the participants were considered so different that the conference proceedings were published as two volumes. Nevertheless the conference was considered a success in bringing researchers together and Oxford conferences continue around four or five years at locations around the world. The subsequent conferences have resulted in a move to more interdisciplinary approaches with researchers aiming to combine the contextuality of archaeological research, which broadly describes the state of archaeoastronomy today. Rather than merely establishing the existence of ancient astronomies archaeoastronomers seek to explain why people would have an interest in the night sky.

Major topics of Archaeoastronomical research

The Use of Calendars

Aztec **Stone of the Sun** replica in El Paso, Texas, cast from the original to be found in the National Museum of Anthropology. A religious artefact showing how the Mexica people thought about time.

A common justification for the need for astronomy is the need to develop an accurate calendar for agricultural reasons. Ancient texts like Hesiod’s Works and Days, an ancient farming manual, would appear to contradict this. Instead astronomical observations are used in combination with ecological signs, such as bird migrations to determine the seasons. Ethnoastronomical work with the Mursi of Ethiopia shows that haphazard astronomy continued until recent times in some parts of the world. All the same, calendars appear to be an almost universal phenomenon in societies as the provide tools for the regulation of people.

An example of a non-agricultural calendar is the Mayan Tzolkin which is a cycle of 260 days. This count is based on an earlier calendar and is found throughout Mesoamerica. This formed part of a more comprehensive Maya Calendar which combined a series of astronomical observations and ritual cycles.

Other peculiar calendars include ancient Greek calendars. These were nominally lunar, starting with the New Moon. In reality the calendar could paused or days skipped with confused citizens inscribing dates by both the civic calendar and ton theoi, by the moon. The lack of any universal calendar for ancient Greece suggests that coordination of panhellenic events such as games or rituals could be difficult and that astronomical symbolism may have been used as a politically neutral form of timekeeping.

Myth and Cosmology

File:Argo-hevelius.jpg

The constellation Argo Navis drawn by Johannes Hevelius in 1690.

Another motive for studying the sky is to understand and explain the universe. In pre-scientific times myth was a tool for achieving this and the explanations, while not scientific, are cosmologies.

The Incas arranged their empire to demonstrate their cosmology. The capital, Cusco, was at the centre of the empire and connected to it by means of ceques, conceptually straight lines radiating out from the centre. These ceques connected the centre of the empire to the four suyus, which were regions defined by their direction from Cusco. The notion of a quartered cosmos is common across the Andes. Gary Urton, who has conducted fieldwork in the Andean villagers of Misminay, has connected this quartering with the appearance of the Milky Way in the night sky. In one season it will bisect the sky and in another bisect it in a perpendicular fashion.

The importance of observing cosmological factors is also seen on the other side of the world. The Forbidden City in Beijing is laid out to follow cosmic order though rather than observing four directions the Chinese saw five, North, South, East, West and Centre. The Forbidden City occupied the centre of ancient Beijing. One approaches the Emperor from the south, thus placing him in front of the circumpolar stars. This creates the situation of the heavens revolving around the person of the Emperor. The Chinese cosmology is now better known through its export as Feng Shui.

There is also much information about how the universe was thought to work stored in the mythology of the constellations. The Barasana of the Amazon plan part of their annual cycle based on observation of the stars. When their constellation of the Caterpillar-Jaguar falls they prepare to catch the pupating caterpillars of the forest as they fall from the trees. This provides planning for food procurement at a time when hunger could otherwise be a problem.

A more well-known source of constellation myth are the texts of the Greeks and Romans. The origin of their constellations remains a matter of continuing and occasionally fractious debate.

Displays of Power

The most common popular image of archaeoastronomy is the expression of hidden knowledge and power. By using stellar symbolism one can make claims of heavenly power.

By including celestial motifs in clothing it becomes possible for the wearer to make claims the power on Earth is drawn from above. It has been said that the Shield of Achilles described by Homer is also a catalogue of constellations. In North America shields depicted in Comanche petroglyphs appear to include Venus symbolism.

Solsticial alignments also can be seen as displays of power. In Egypt the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak has been the subject of much study. Evaluation of the site, taking into account the change over time of the obliquity of the ecliptic show that the Great Temple was aligned on the rising of the midwinter sun. The length of the corridor down which sunlight would travel would have limited illumination at other times of the year.

In a later period the Serapeum in Alexandria was also said to have contained a solar alignment so that, on a specific sunrise, a shaft of light would pass across the lips of the statue of Serapis thus symbolising the Sun saluting the god.

The use of astronomy at Stonehenge continues to be a matter of vigorous discussion.

Archaeoastronomical Organisations and publications

There are currently two academic organisations for scholars of archaeoastronomy. ISAAC - the International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture was founded in 1996 and is associated with Archaeoastronomy – the Journal of Astronomy in Culture. SEAC - La Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture is slightly older being created in 1992. This holds annual conferences in Europe and published refereed conference proceedings on an annual basis.

Additionally the Journal for the History of Astronomy publishes many archaeoastronomical papers. For twenty-seven volumes it also published an annual supplement Archaeoastronomy.

References

A.P. Trotter, Stonehenge as an Astronomical Instrument, Antiquity Vol 1:1, 1927, 42-53
R.J.C. Atkinson, Moonshine on Stonehenge, Antiquity Vol 49:159, 1966, 212-6
E. MacKie, Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain, St Martin’s Press, 1977, ISBN 023640041X
C.L.N. Ruggles, Archaeoastronomy in the 1990s, Group D Publications. 1993, ix, ISBN 1874152012
A.F. Aveni, World Archaeoastronomy, CUP, 1989, xi-xiii, ISBN 0521341809
D. Turton and C.L.N. Ruggles, Agreeing to Disagree: The Measurement of Duration in a Southwestern Ethiopian Community, Current Anthropology Vol. 19.3, 1978, 585-600
A.F. Aveni, Empires of Time, Basic Books, 1989, ISBN 0465019501
S. McCluskey, The Inconstant Moon: Lunar Astronomies in Different Cultures, Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture Vol 15. 2000, 14-31
A. Salt and E. Boutsikas, Knowing when to consult the oracle at Delphi. Antiquity Vol 79:305, 2005, 562-72
B. Bauer and D. Dearborn, Astronomy and empire in the ancient Andes: the cultural origins of Inca sky watching, University of Texas, 1995, ISBN 0292708378
G. Urton, At the crossroads of the earth and the sky: an Andean cosmology, University of Texas. 1981, ISBN 029270349X
E.C. Krupp, Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings, John Wiley and Sons, 1997, 196-9, ISBN 0471329754
M. Hoskin, The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy, CUP, 1999, 15-6, ISBN 0521576008
R. Hannah, The Constellations on Achilles’ Shield (Iliad 18. 485-489). Electronic Antiquity II.4, 1994, 15-6
E.C. Krupp, Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings, John Wiley and Sons, 1997, 252-3, ISBN 0471329754
E.C. Krupp, Light in the Temples, Records in Stone: Papers in Memory of Alexander Thom, ed. C.L.N. Ruggles, 1988, 473-499, ISBN 0521333814
Rufinus, The destruction of the Serapeum

External Links

Archaeoastronomy A Thinkquest website surveying archaeoastronomical sites across the world.
Clives Ruggles webpage: bibliography and synopsis of his course at Leicester University
ISAAC, The International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture.
SEAC La Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture. Site in English.
Space Imaging's Ancient Observatories gallery - Satellite pictures of ancient observatories.
Traditions of the Sun - NASA and others exploring the world's ancient observatories.

Categories: