Archaeastronomy

3.1* From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 5 There are two shafts within the Great Pyramid that appear to be astronomically aligned. Explain why it makes sense for one shaft to point toward Orion's Belt and the other to point toward the meridian crossing of Thuban.

Thuban, as the north star was in a sense among the frist of the circumpolar stars or imperishable, as the egyptians phrased it to acknowledge their ability to circuit eternally without ever setting. The stars in Orion's belt, among the decans, the stars whose risings or transits marked the hours of the night throughout the egyptian year. Orion was Osiris, who presided over the resurrection of souls.

3.2 From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 5 What is the significance of the 70 day time period to the Egyptians. Why, for example, did the purification of a dead body (mummification) take 70 days?

Sirius disappeared from the sky for 70 days. The process of purification took/takes 70 days and at the end of the 70 days they enter the afterlife. Any star that goes behind the sun and has it's heliacal rising disappears from the sky for 70 days. When it comes back it's reborn.

3.3* From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 5 The tombs of Chinese royalty are usually oriented north-south. Explain why the Emperors usually oriented their tombs and palaces so they had to be approached from the South. In other words, why did these leaders associate themselves with the North?

North is the primary direction and the other directions follow quite nicely. They approached from the south because the North Star is the leader and all of the other stars follow.

3.4 From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 5 Describe the astronomical alignment of the Irish tomb of Newgrange and explain one piece of evidence that supports the idea that this alignment was intentional.

Details like the roof-box, the quartz-box, and the vertical axis line carved down the middle of the entrance stone confirm the intent.

3.5* From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 11 Templo Mayor in the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is skewed from a cardinal alignment so that it faces 7 degrees south of east instead of due east like most other buildings. Nevertheless, the Aztecs used the building to mark the days of the equinox, when the Sun rose directly East. Explain how the Aztecs used this "misaligned" building to mark the sun's location on the equinox (use a diagram to help with this answer showing true East where the Sun rises on the day of the equinox and the path of the Sun leading through the notch in the temple).

"By taking into account the height of the pyramid, Aveni and his collaborator, made some sense out of the misalignment. As the equinox sun climbs higher, it follows a slanted trajectory, a path angled almost 70 ½ degrees to the horizon. This carries it toward the south. From a point in the plaza west of Templo Mayor and on its axis, the sun would eventually be seen between the twin temples, or as is now thought more likely, over the temple on the south, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. (Show where it truly rises and where it rises thanks to the to slanting)

3.6 From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 11 Explain what is a huaca (pronounced "wah-kah") and what is a ceque (pronounced "seh-keh"). Describe what the Coriancha is and how it relates to the ceque system in Inca culture.

Huaca is a place or feature with sacred meaning (Anything could be a huaca), and the line formed by several huacas was ceque. The center from which all ceques extended was the coricancha or Temple of the Sun. The coricancha is the Center of Cuzco, the center of the world.

3.7* From "Echoes of Ancient Skies," Chapter 11 Near Cuzco, at a place known as Mismanay, the city is divided into four parts, with the intersection at a chapel known as Crucero. Explain how the motion of the Milky Way in the sky (unique to this specific latitude) inspires these paths which point along the intercardinal (NE, NW, SE, SW) directions.

The axis of the milky way is skewed with respect to the earth's rotation, its orientation changes. The Milky way rolls up at night through the eastern horizon like a cresting wave and eventually arcs through the zenith. One end of this band of diffuse starlight intersects the southeastern horizon, while the other drops out of sight in the northwest. 12 hours later its other half transits overhead, and then the band runs from northeast to southwest. All four intersections with the horizon provide two more intersecting cosmic axes-like the main routes and canals of Mismanay. On the ground everything intersects at the crucero; everything crosses at "the Cross". They purposely did that to reflect the Milky Way in the sky.

3.8 From the passage on ceques, what does Tahuantinsuyu mean, and how does this relate to Incan society?

The Inca name for their own empire is Tahuantinsuyu which means "four parts". The Inca empire was partitioned into four divisions called "suyus".

3.9 From the passage on ceques, describe how the Incas divided their landscape (what did they physically use to accomplish this task).

They used ceques or radial lines to divide the shrines (Huacas) up into regions (state boundaries).

3.10* From the passage on ceques, one theory is that the Incan calendar was based on the sidereal month (27.3 days) rather than the much more common synodic month (29.5 days, consistent with the cycle of phases). In this theory, the Incan year would be 12 x 27.3 days, which is 328 days. Describe three lines of supporting evidence for this theory (one related to latitude, one related to the ceque system and one related to the what would happen on each day of the calendar and on the "dead days").

The ceques align with the rising and setting of the sun at one of the solstices. The number of huacas 12x27.3, 328, they did one ceremony per day and used them like a calendar. The sidereal month is visible near the equator by observing what stars the moon appears on a level with. The stars rise vertically at the equator so it is easy to see. It's easier to keep a sidereal calendar near the equator. "Dead days" took place when Pleadies was too close to the sun and disappeared. 328 acts of worship, the 37 other days were dead days were added to keep the solar year.

3.11* From the passage on quipu, describe a quipu, then explain two reasons why we believe the knots in a quipu correspond to numbers in a base-10 numerical system like our own decimal system.

Mysterious knotted string devices known to contain mechanisms for recording fairly mundane numerical data, but there is reason to believe that at least some of them contained a more permanent record of sacred information relating, for example, to the calendar or astronomy. Reason #1: Quipu can be bundled up, or held or laid out to display the various strings, which can be of many and various yarn types and colors. On the strings are knots. These normally contain up to nine turns and it is generally accepted that they encode digits from one to nine. Reason #2: Furthermore, in the majority of quipu the knots on each string are carefully arranged in a way that suggests that they represent a number of two or more digits.

3.12* From the passage on quipu, UR6 is one of the largest quipu that has been found and preserved. Describe the evidence indicating UR6 represents perhaps a history or sequence of events that occurred over a span of 2 years.

UR6 has 762 pendant strings, 730 of which are systematically organized into twenty-four sets, each containing twenty-nine, thirty, or thirty-one strings. An obvious interpretation is that each set represents a synodic month, that is, a month defined by the phase cycle of the moon, and that the whole represents a period of two years. The strings themselves contain knots representing numbers. The obvious conclusion is that the quipu UR6 continued information organized calendrically. If this is true, it shows that while no quipu may in itself have been a calendar, we can nonetheless retrieve information about calendars in everyday use within the Inca empire from certain quipu indirectly.

3.13 From the website about the Hawaiian island Mokumanamana, what is the English translation of the Hawaiian name Mokumanamana?

Necker or Island of exponential spiritual power.

3.14* From the website about the Hawaiian island Mokumanamana, in Hawaiian culture, the island of Mokumanamana marks a boundary between Po and Ao. Describe what Po and Ao are and how they are related to death and the afterlife. For reference, the term "Papahanaumokuakea" from the reading refers to a large, isolated cluster of of islands and atolls and their surrounding ocean, about 150 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian archipelago, and it resides a region of Po while the main Hawaiian archipelago resides in Ao.

Po and Ao mean Night and Day. Po(setting) is a place of darkness where Gods and spirits dwell and Ao(rising) is a realm of light and mortality. When spirits transition upon death, they travel from Ao in the east to Po in the west.

3.15 From the website about the Hawaiian island Mokumanamana, what evidence has been found on Mokumanamana that indicates the ancestral Hawaiian people considered this a sacred space?

Archaeologists surveying Mokumanamana have documented over 52 religious shrines, cultural sites, and artifacts on the island. Stone carvings called Ki'i, resembling humans, were found on the island.

3.16 From "Star Tales — Hercules " According to the Greek story, this mythological figure was born with the name Alcides. Explain why he eventually decided to change his name to Heracles (or Hercules).

He did a bad deed while under Hera's spell and the Oracle gave him the name Heracles which means "glory of hera"

3.17 From "Star Tales — Hercules " Explain how Hercules is related to the constellation Leo.

Hercules first task was to kill the lion that terrorized the city of Nemea, and the lion is identified with the constellation Leo

3.18 From "Star Tales — Leo " What is the translation of the brightest star name Regulus? What is the translation of the 2nd brightest star, Denebola?

Regulus means "little King"; Denebola means "the lion's tail".

3.19 From "Star Tales — Leo " In Chinese lore, the Sickle that is the most distinctive part of the constellation Leo, forms to head of what large constellation?

The yellow dragon

3.20 From "Star Tales -- Bootes " Sometimes this constellation is represented as Icarius. Explain what was Icarius' claim to fame and how Icarius died.

Icarius made some wine for some shepherds, and they became so intoxicated that their friends thought they had been poisoned so they killed Icarius.

3.21 From "Star Tales -- Bootes" The brightest star in Bootes is Arcturus. What is the translation of the Greek name Arcturus, and why is it appropriate for this star?

"Bear guard" It is an appropriate name because it represents Arcas whose mother got turned into a bear and he is there to protect her.

3.22 From the first video on retrograde motion Based on the video, how often does opposition occur for Mars?

Opposition only occurs once every two years.

3.23 From the first video on retrograde motion Briefly explain what actually causes retrograde motion of Mars.

Earth moves farther in its orbit than mars

3.24 From the second video on retrograde motion Based on the video, explain why Jupiter's retrograde loop appears smaller than the retrograde loop of Mars and why Jupiter's loop takes a longer time to complete.

Mars is the closest planet to earth and thus takes the most time for earth to pass it. It appears to be in the largest range of positions. Jupiter is further from the sun so it's moving slower and the loop it does make appears smaller.

3.25 From the video "Caves to Cosmos," describe the evidence discovered in Room 28 of Pueblo Bonito that the settlement in Chaco Canyon traded with Central American cities over 500 miles to the South.

It contained dozens of cylindrical pods covered in chocolate, the jars were created in sets used in rituals to pour chocolate. Chocolate, turquoise, shells, tropical birds all objects of ritual significance brought from great distances.

3.26 From the video "Caves to Cosmos," describe what is significant about the Caverna de Pedra Pintada in the Amazon rain forest, how it affects our understanding of ancient history going back 13,000 years.

The cave is covered with paintings inspired by animals in the sky, The remains we found and dated in the cave show that people were living deep in the amazon rainforest 13,000 years ago. They were foragers, fisherman, artists, and perhaps scientists. We think that they were counting something in the sky, and the art links people with their environment.

3.27* From the video "Caves to Cosmos," what are the six sacred directions to the Ancestral Pueblo people, and how do the kivas connect with these directions?

The 6 sacred directions are the four cardinal directions with the addition of up and down. Every Kiva is in line with the four cardinal directions, and you need a ladder to climb out down and up out of the Kiva.

3.28 From the video "Caves to Cosmos," describe what they speculate is the purpose for the shiny, metallic mineral that covered the walls and ceiling of the tunnel beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.

They believed the artificial starlight was there to mimic the cosmos, it was there to mimic the sky and stars twinkling.

3.29* From the video "Caves to Cosmos," describe what was discovered at the end of the tunnel beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan (what was found there and how the tunnel and chamber are lined up with the temple).

They found two stone figures, statues that depicts the first man and woman in the cities origin story. They were positioned exactly with the intersection of the north-south axis and east west axis, and the peak was directly above it, aligning the sanctuary with the 6 directions.

3.30 From the video "Caves to Cosmos," explain how Pueblo Bonito enabled its people to tell time during the day (identifying solar noon) and during the year (identifying the equinox dates).

Pueblo Bonito is a clock that trucks the sun during the day, and it is also a calendar that tracks the sun during the year. Each day as the sun gets higher in the sky, its shadow creeps closer to the north wall. When it disappears it is solar noon. Every day the sun sets in a different place on the horizon. It sets in the south on winter solstice, and in the north on summer solstice, the two days halfway in between them are called equinoxes. North wall tracks the day, the west wall tracks the year.

3.31* From the video "Caves to Cosmos," Chris Davis examines a half-mile long rocky outcropping in the Amazon rainforest and suggests the paintings there may represent a calendar. Describe the paintings found at the north and south ends of the west-facing rocky ridge and what these paintings may represent.

The art is facing the west (sunsets?), The concentric cicles could represent the winter solstice due to its south location. The pedestal lines up with a rocky platform the horizon. The northern end of the cliff face marks the summer solstice. They created a calendar you can walk through, it combines shelter, knowledge of wildlife, plants, and the sky helps them find their place in the world.

3.32 From the video "Where Archaeoastronomy Started," the trillothons at Stonehenge are a type of dolmen. What is a dolmen, and what did it normally represent?

A dolmen is a structure consisting of two standing stones supporting a huge lintel, normally used for burials. It represents a doorway between living and the dead or a tomb.

3.33 From the video "Where Archaeoastronomy Started," describe how complex tombs were constructed using a series of dolmens.

Complex raves comprised of a corridor of huge standing stones roofed with huge slabs and ending in one or more chambers.

3.34 From the video "Where Archaeoastronomy Started," looking out from inside the horseshoe structure of Stonehenge along the "avenue" leads to what astronomical alignment on the horizon?

Rising sun at the summer solstice

3.35 From the video "Where Archaeoastronomy Started," standing in the "avenue" and looking back toward Stonehenge leads to what astronomical alignment on the horizon?

Winter Solstice at sunset

3.36 From the video "Decoding Stonehenge," explain how we have deduced how long ago Stonehenge was constructed.

They looked at the ruins leftover. in the holes, you can find their digging tools.

3.37 From the video "Decoding Stonehenge," what is the heel stone, and how is it related to the alignment of Stonehenge?

The heel stone is the stone placed in the avenue to mark the summer solstice sunrise.

3.38 From the video "Decoding Stonehenge," explain what clue in another monument leads us to believe the winter alignment of Stonehenge may be the primary intended alignment.

The newgrange tomb in ireland has a window that allows the winter solstice sunrise to illuminate the chamber.

3.39* From lecture, briefly explain three reasons why archaeological alignments with the Sun are the most likely to be intentional and the most commonly found alignments around the world.

1) the significance of the alignment. Is it aligned towards something that is incredibly significant (I.E. the sun during a solstice): 2)because it's easy to determine, solstice is the same every year, 3)useful(agricultural)).

3.40 From lecture, explain why solstice alignments are more common at higher latitudes compared to the tropics.

Most of the time at higher latitudes it is due to agriculture, but in the tropics it doesn't change much.

3.41 From lecture, explain what a zenith tube is and why these are only found in the tropical latitudes (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn).

The sun never gets high as the zenith except for in the tropics. The zenith tube is illuminated only on the summer solstice. 12 degrees N. Latitude is the middle of the Yucatán peninsula. The sun goes back and forth through the zenith twice a year, 260 days apart. A zenith tube is a vertical shaft 7-10 inches in diameter that goes down 5-10 feet into a room and hits a shiny reflective thing at the bottom to light up the object. Usually built into a hill or something.

3.42 From lecture, briefly explain three reasons why archaeological alignments with bright stars are likely to be intentional.

Bright stars are seasonal(calendrical). They have a fixed location/always rise in the same place. The brightest stars can be seen even on the horizon.

3.43* From lecture, explain two reasons why it is difficult to determine (in the absence of other supporting evidence) whether or not an archaeological alignment toward the rising or setting of a bright star is intentional.

You need more than just the alignment. You need supporting evidence. 2) Must have date of construction because The stars exact location changes over long periods of time due to precession. 1) It must be very precise due to multiple bright stars crossing in the same area.

3.44 From lecture, explain two reasons why a culture may want to track the rising or setting points of the Moon.

Some kind of mythology associated with the moon 2) some ancient cultures kept track of the eclipses; Cycles of lunar motion

3.45* From lecture, explain three reasons why archaeological alignments with certain rising or setting points of the Moon on the horizon are likely not very common (compared to bright stars).

The rising and setting locations for the moon are not exactly usefu. 2) it's actually quite difficult to track because it doesn't follow an obvious pattern. 3) the moon has some physical size so what piece of the moon do you use to track the moons location. It's difficult to see. 4) Not related to anything tangible

3.46 From lecture, explain what is a major lunar standstill (you may wish to use a diagram for this, but it is not necessary if your explanation is clear enough).

Southernmost or Northernmost rising or setting point of the moon

3.47 From lecture, explain two reasons why a culture may decide to intentionally align some structure with a particular rising or setting location of a planet.

1) Venus is very small and very bright, 3rd brightest object in the sky and easy to track.; 2) May be associated with mythology of the culture.

3.48 From lecture, explain two reasons why we view planetary alignments with skepticism, why we think when we find a planetary alignment, we assume by default (without other corroborating evidence) that it is accidental (serendipitous).

1) Very complex, hard to track. 2) No tangible effect on the environment

3.49 From lecture, briefly explain an example in which (a) an alignment is repeated elsewhere in a similar way, lending credibility to the idea that it is intentional and (b) an alignment is not repeated elsewhere, leading us to doubt that it was intentional.

1) Repetition or statistical significance 2) and an alignment that's not repeated

3.50 From lecture, explain how written evidence supports the theory that the Governor's Palace in Uxmal is intentionally aligned toward a maximum southern rising of Venus (also known as a maximum southern excursion).

1)Repetition, 2) The codexes show that they track Venus, 3) Newgrange has suns carved into the wall of the tomb where the sun shines into on the winter solstice.

3.51 From lecture, explain two factors that raise doubts about the theory that the Medicine Wheel in Wyoming was meant to track rising/setting points of particular stars.

1) The accuracy is just not there, rock piles are too big. 2) Long before the site was protected, it was clear that the rocks were tampered with.

3.52 From lecture, how the size of the Cahokia sun circle can be used as an argument against the theory that it is aligned with respect to the solstices and/or equinoxes. Also, why must solstice alignments be very accurate to be credible if there is no other supporting evidence?

The posts are too close together, it's too big on the sky. Precision is necessary because

3.53 From lecture, explain the two main reasons why astronomers argue that the solstice alignments of Stonehenge are likely intentional.

1) the main axis: summer solstice sunrise and winter solstice sunset. 2) the rectangle made by the _____ were made to trac

3.54 From lecture, the idea that the station stones are intentionally aligned with the lunar standstills is viewed with much less certainty than the solstice alignment of the main stone structure. Explain two reasons why we have less confidence about the lunar alignment.

1)The station stones are not accurate. 2)There is no other supporting evidence in favor of it. There is no purpose

3.55 From lecture, explain the most prominent alignment of the standing stones of Callanish in northern Scotland.

There doesn't seem to be any kind of solstice alignment in the stone circle. The angle of the northern axis leads scientists to believe that Callanish is aligned with a lunar standstill. The prominent alignment of the avenue is toward a major lunar standstill.

3.56* Use a simple diagram to help explain at what time of year the full moon travels on its lowest path above the southern horizon (when the full moon is lowest in the sky crossing the meridian).

(Northernmost Full moonrise occurs in winter; Southernmost full moonrise occurs in summer)

3.57 From lecture, explain why lunar standstills are a more likely alignment to commemorate for high latitudes like northern Scotland as opposed to a lower latitude like Fort Worth.

The moon is easier to see at a higher latitude

3,58 From lecture, explain the significance of the roof box at the Newgrange passage tomb.

The roof box was purposefully constructed to cause the sunlight to get through the passage and illuminate the room.

3.59 From lecture, describe three lines of evidence that indicate the solstice alignment of Newgrange is likely intentional.

The alignment with the solstice is significant. 2) There are many other passage tombs that share the alignment. 3) The drawings on the walls depict the sun. 4) It's common for tombs to be associated with the winter solstice because it is associated with the rebirth.

3.60 From lecture, describe the alignments of the two major passage tombs close to Newgrange, known as Dowth and Knowth.

The tombs are not associated with anything. They're not even aligned with the solstice.