Archaeoastronomy. Archaeoastronomy is the study of archaeological sites related to the study of astronomy by ancient cultures. It also studies the degree of astronomical knowledge possessed and the instruments used by the different ancient peoples. One of the aspects of this discipline is the study of the historical record of astronomical knowledge prior to the development of modern astronomy .
Applied studies
An example of this type of study is found in the extensive record produced by ancient Chinese astronomy looking for references to guest stars , objects or stars observed by ancient Chinese astronomers and recorded as passing objects. Some of them were comets while others constitute nearby supernovae whose appearance in historical times allows us to study in detail the temporal evolution of these phenomena.
Another type of studies of a more cultural nature studies the alignments of ancient buildings and monuments according to the positions of the Sun and the Moon . There are numerous claims about the nature of the megalithic Stonehenge monument as a representative of an ancient observatory. This and many other ancient monuments have alignments that seem significant at the solstice and equinox points. In the 1960s, Alexander Thom made an exhaustive catalog of megalithic monuments in Great Britain . As a result of his investigations, he suggested that these monuments were an indication for the elaboration of an ancient calendar.
Archaeoastronomical schools
To deduce their degree of intelligence, our ancestors have left the mark of their astronomical knowledge. Its foundation is based on the fact that since the beginning of human culture, humans made meticulous observations of phenomena ( climate ) as well as very precise and systematic observations of sunsets and orthos, evening and morning of the cyclical movement constellations. of the stars throughout the year. With these two groups of observations they defined a relationship. And in this scientific relationship they showed the regularity of cyclical phenomena associated with precise constellation situations throughout the year, which were also cyclical.
That is that our ancestors discovered a regularity of phenomena to coincide with regular movements of the stars : stars gathered in constellations that appeared in the sky looking north after sunset of the sun , or stellar groups that appeared before dawn / before sunrise. (heliac orthos), hardly paying attention to the position of the great stars: the sun, the moon , or the planets. And with those two groups of observations they defined a scientific relationship, rules from which they could draw inductive inferences of the expected climate with a certain degree of probability with certain evening or morning constellations on certain days of the year (the 22 days of holidays).
Thanks to this astronomical observation, they knew the weather associated with constellations. So that with this they guessed when, for example, was the most suitable time to sow so that the seeds would germinate, because at that moment they knew that it was going to rain; or they guessed when was the best time to harvest the fruits because they knew when it was going to be hot or not, which would or would not make the fruits ripen; or they guessed if it was time to travel, because they knew that there would or would not be storms or tempests, etc. And this knowledge was encoded in a metaphorical language and with a religious explanation. That is why at the same time they celebrated certain rituals during the 22 days of festivities of the year, to convince Mother Nature that he fulfilled his responsibility and sent the expected phenomenon at that time of the year.
In other words, the foundation of their myths, rituals, … was in some way scientific, but they had the purpose of asking the Divinity to magically ensure food and survival, according to the period of the year (climate) in which they were, they did not ask that it defend them from the frost in summer, but when the calendar indicated it.
