In the scope of archaeoastronomy, the analysis of a large number of structures through the frequency histograms for their azimuths and declinations can identify singular patterns of orientation. Conclusions often rely on qualitative assessments. Quantitative assessments have been proposed by using as null hypothesis a pure random distribution of azimuths over the 360º horizon. In some cases, such as orientation of Christian churches, the histograms or spectra are composite, with peaks overlapping a continuous and not uniform background. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the statistical significance of the net area of a peak in the histogram in relation to the local background level. The spectra use Normal kernel functions. The background contribution is estimated from the area of the trapezoidal polygon under the peak, and it is interpreted as the probability parameter for a Binomial distribution. The methodology is illustrated with a real case study which includes the azimuth and declination histograms for a set of churches from southern Spain dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption. The method is more restrictive than previous approaches.
{"title":"Analysis of Structures’ Orientations in Archaeoastronomy","authors":"J. Abril","doi":"10.1558/jsa.18109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.18109","url":null,"abstract":"In the scope of archaeoastronomy, the analysis of a large number of structures through the frequency histograms for their azimuths and declinations can identify singular patterns of orientation. Conclusions often rely on qualitative assessments. Quantitative assessments have been proposed by using as null hypothesis a pure random distribution of azimuths over the 360º horizon. In some cases, such as orientation of Christian churches, the histograms or spectra are composite, with peaks overlapping a continuous and not uniform background. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the statistical significance of the net area of a peak in the histogram in relation to the local background level. The spectra use Normal kernel functions. The background contribution is estimated from the area of the trapezoidal polygon under the peak, and it is interpreted as the probability parameter for a Binomial distribution. The methodology is illustrated with a real case study which includes the azimuth and declination histograms for a set of churches from southern Spain dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption. The method is more restrictive than previous approaches.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43519505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We present the results of an archaeoastronomical analysis of structures dating from the Inca and early colonial periods in the Mapocho River basin, Chile. Our purpose is to show possible continuities or ruptures in the creation and management of architectural and natural spaces, particularly those linked to the observation of astronomical phenomena with ceremonial and calendrical significance in the Andean world. We focus on Santiago, where we undertook topographical and horizon survey work at the Main Square, Metropolitan Cathedral, San Francisco Church and Santa Lucía Hill, and evaluate documentary and ethnographic sources. Using models developed in cultural astronomy and landscape archaeology, we found these places were ancient observation spots for the Sun and Moon around the solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills. Sightlines (ceques) may have connected these places to potentially sacred elements of the environment from a central point located in the Main Square (haukaypata).
{"title":"Cultural Astronomy in Hispanic-Indigenous Contexts of Central Chile","authors":"Ricardo Moyano, P. Bustamante","doi":"10.1558/jsa.19437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.19437","url":null,"abstract":"We present the results of an archaeoastronomical analysis of structures dating from the Inca and early colonial periods in the Mapocho River basin, Chile. Our purpose is to show possible continuities or ruptures in the creation and management of architectural and natural spaces, particularly those linked to the observation of astronomical phenomena with ceremonial and calendrical significance in the Andean world. We focus on Santiago, where we undertook topographical and horizon survey work at the Main Square, Metropolitan Cathedral, San Francisco Church and Santa Lucía Hill, and evaluate documentary and ethnographic sources. Using models developed in cultural astronomy and landscape archaeology, we found these places were ancient observation spots for the Sun and Moon around the solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills. Sightlines (ceques) may have connected these places to potentially sacred elements of the environment from a central point located in the Main Square (haukaypata).","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43686784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The landscape around Stonehenge contains a number of major Early Neolithic monuments dating to the fourth millennium BC, including the Stonehenge Cursus, the Lesser Cursus, Robin Hood’s Ball causewayed enclosure and several long barrows. A previously unsuspected Early Neolithic causewayed enclosure whose northeast rim was uncovered in 2016 on the slopes of Lark Hill, just to the north of the World Heritage Site boundary, represented a major new discovery. About a millennium after the construction of the Lark Hill Enclosure, a line of at least six timber posts was erected crossing from the interior to the exterior of the old enclosure, just to one side of a wide entrance. The line is slightly curved but the last three posts in the line face directly out towards the position of June solstice sunrise. While several short and longer rows of posts are now known to have been built in this vicinity both during the Later Neolithic and at later times, there are several reasons for believing this solstitial alignment to have been intentional and meaningful. It may even have represented the “monumentalisation” of an earlier broadly solstitial alignment of natural features, as has been suggested at Stonehenge itself.
{"title":"Possible New Solstitial Sightline in the Stonehenge Landscape","authors":"C. Ruggles, A. Chadburn, M. Leivers, Andrew Smith","doi":"10.1558/jsa.19439","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.19439","url":null,"abstract":"The landscape around Stonehenge contains a number of major Early Neolithic monuments dating to the fourth millennium BC, including the Stonehenge Cursus, the Lesser Cursus, Robin Hood’s Ball causewayed enclosure and several long barrows. A previously unsuspected Early Neolithic causewayed enclosure whose northeast rim was uncovered in 2016 on the slopes of Lark Hill, just to the north of the World Heritage Site boundary, represented a major new discovery. About a millennium after the construction of the Lark Hill Enclosure, a line of at least six timber posts was erected crossing from the interior to the exterior of the old enclosure, just to one side of a wide entrance. The line is slightly curved but the last three posts in the line face directly out towards the position of June solstice sunrise. While several short and longer rows of posts are now known to have been built in this vicinity both during the Later Neolithic and at later times, there are several reasons for believing this solstitial alignment to have been intentional and meaningful. It may even have represented the “monumentalisation” of an earlier broadly solstitial alignment of natural features, as has been suggested at Stonehenge itself.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44586464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chris Scarre and Luiz Oosterbeek, Megalithic Tombs in Western Iberia: Excavations at the Anta da Lajinha Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2020. Hardback, 242 pp. ISBN 978-1-78570-980-7. £45.00.
Chris Scarre和Luiz Oosterbeek，《伊比利亚西部的大石器时代坟墓：牛津和费城的Anta da Lajinha挖掘》：牛津出版社，2020年。Hardback，242页，ISBN 978-1-78570-980-7。45.00英镑。
{"title":"Chris Scarre and Luiz Oosterbeek, Megalithic Tombs in Western Iberia: Excavations at the Anta da Lajinha","authors":"Fabio Silva","doi":"10.1558/jsa.19441","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.19441","url":null,"abstract":"Chris Scarre and Luiz Oosterbeek, Megalithic Tombs in Western Iberia: Excavations at the Anta da Lajinha Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2020. Hardback, 242 pp. ISBN 978-1-78570-980-7. £45.00.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43709647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The historic centre of the city of Pilsen in western Bohemia, today a region of the Czech Republic, was constructed at the end of the thirteenth century, at a time when Gothic architecture was universal across most of western and central Europe. The Gothic style had emerged and developed during an era when social and economic changes were favouring the development of new urban settlements, and when the translation of ancient Greek natural philosophy, including astronomy, was giving rise to a new intellectual movement. This revival of the natural sciences was inevitably bound up with the Roman Catholic Church, since much of this knowledge had been preserved within monastic institutions and was now being used by theologians/natural philosophers who wanted to apply reason to theology. This paper’s analysis of the urban plan of the historic centre of Pilsen is an attempt to investigate the possible influence that the science of astronomy had on architectural thought and creativity in western Bohemia, and how this was represented in the light of scientific advancement.
{"title":"Decoding the Urban Plan of the City of Pilsen (Plzen)","authors":"Nikolaos Ragkos","doi":"10.1558/jsa.20980","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.20980","url":null,"abstract":"The historic centre of the city of Pilsen in western Bohemia, today a region of the Czech Republic, was constructed at the end of the thirteenth century, at a time when Gothic architecture was universal across most of western and central Europe. The Gothic style had emerged and developed during an era when social and economic changes were favouring the development of new urban settlements, and when the translation of ancient Greek natural philosophy, including astronomy, was giving rise to a new intellectual movement. This revival of the natural sciences was inevitably bound up with the Roman Catholic Church, since much of this knowledge had been preserved within monastic institutions and was now being used by theologians/natural philosophers who wanted to apply reason to theology. This paper’s analysis of the urban plan of the historic centre of Pilsen is an attempt to investigate the possible influence that the science of astronomy had on architectural thought and creativity in western Bohemia, and how this was represented in the light of scientific advancement.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46247927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Review of the monthly “Skyscape Archaeology Keynote Lecture Series” organised by the Journal of Skyscape Archaeology and the Sophia Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, October 2020–March 2021
{"title":"Review of the monthly “Skyscape Archaeology Keynote Lecture Series” organised by the Journal of Skyscape Archaeology and the Sophia Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, October 2020–March 2021","authors":"William F. Romain","doi":"10.1558/jsa.20982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.20982","url":null,"abstract":"Review of the monthly “Skyscape Archaeology Keynote Lecture Series” organised by the Journal of Skyscape Archaeology and the Sophia Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, October 2020–March 2021","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46255758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The pillars at the entrance of the inner apse of one of the cluster of Neolithic temples at Mnajdra, Malta display rows of drilled holes which have been interpreted as a tally of days. Furthermore, it has been proposed that the number of holes in the rows on the east pillar coincides well with a sequence of intervals between the heliacal rising of bright stars or star groups. Is this remarkable correspondence simply a chance occurrence, or do the drilled holes represent material evidence of deliberate time reckoning by means of heliacal star risings in the Neolithic age? This question has led to the statistical investigation described in this paper, which takes into account the heliacal risings of all stars of magnitude 2.0 or brighter visible from Malta 5000 years ago as well as the Pleiades and the Hyades star clusters, which attracted the attention of other ancient cultures. The paper presents and discusses the method used and the challenges involved in the investigation. The results show that with a tolerance of ±1 day for uncertainty in the calculated heliacal rise days, the probability of achieving an exact correspondence between a random ordering of the tally and a series of star rises is 0.0014. With a wider tolerance of ±2 days the probability is 0.011. The final section discusses the significance and implications of these results.
{"title":"Revisiting the 5000-Year-Old Tally at Mnajdra, Malta","authors":"G. Agius, Lorraine B. Read, Frank J. Ventura","doi":"10.1558/jsa.19438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.19438","url":null,"abstract":"The pillars at the entrance of the inner apse of one of the cluster of Neolithic temples at Mnajdra, Malta display rows of drilled holes which have been interpreted as a tally of days. Furthermore, it has been proposed that the number of holes in the rows on the east pillar coincides well with a sequence of intervals between the heliacal rising of bright stars or star groups. Is this remarkable correspondence simply a chance occurrence, or do the drilled holes represent material evidence of deliberate time reckoning by means of heliacal star risings in the Neolithic age? This question has led to the statistical investigation described in this paper, which takes into account the heliacal risings of all stars of magnitude 2.0 or brighter visible from Malta 5000 years ago as well as the Pleiades and the Hyades star clusters, which attracted the attention of other ancient cultures. The paper presents and discusses the method used and the challenges involved in the investigation. The results show that with a tolerance of ±1 day for uncertainty in the calculated heliacal rise days, the probability of achieving an exact correspondence between a random ordering of the tally and a series of star rises is 0.0014. With a wider tolerance of ±2 days the probability is 0.011. The final section discusses the significance and implications of these results.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42678313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steven R. Gullberg, Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2020. Hardback, 370 pp., 42 b/w illus., 275 colour illus. ISBN 978-3-030-48365. €135.19.
Steven R.Gullberg，《印加帝国天文学：太阳和夜空的使用和意义》，瑞士：施普林格出版社，2020年。Hardback，370页，第42页插图。，275色插图。是978-3-030-48365。135.19欧元。
{"title":"Steven R. Gullberg, Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky","authors":"B. Bauer","doi":"10.1558/jsa.20981","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.20981","url":null,"abstract":"Steven R. Gullberg, Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2020. Hardback, 370 pp., 42 b/w illus., 275 colour illus. ISBN 978-3-030-48365. €135.19.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43543620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Günther Oestmann, The Astronomical Clock of Strasbourg Cathedral: Function and Significance. Trans. Bruce W. Irwin Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2020. Hardback xvi, 348 pp. ISBN: 978-90-04-42346-6. $179.00.
{"title":"Günther Oestmann, The Astronomical Clock of Strasbourg Cathedral: Function and Significance. Trans. Bruce W. Irwin","authors":"Carole Taylor","doi":"10.1558/jsa.19440","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.19440","url":null,"abstract":"Günther Oestmann, The Astronomical Clock of Strasbourg Cathedral: Function and Significance. Trans. Bruce W. Irwin Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2020. Hardback xvi, 348 pp. ISBN: 978-90-04-42346-6. $179.00.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44355492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence of systematic astronomical observation and the impact of celestial knowledge on culture is plentiful in the Bronze Age societies of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Europe. An interest in astral phenomena is also reflected in Hittite documents, architecture and art. The rock-cut reliefs of 64 deities in the main chamber of Yazilikaya, a Hittite rock sanctuary associated with Hattusa, the Hittite capital in central Anatolia, can be broken into groups marking days, synodic months and solar years. Here, we suggest that the sanctuary in its entirety represents a symbolic image of the cosmos, including its static levels (earth, sky, underworld) and the cyclical processes of renewal and rebirth (day/night, lunar phases, summer/winter). Static levels and celestial cyclicities are emphasised throughout the sanctuary – every single relief relates to this system. We interpret the central panel with the supreme deities, at the far north end of Chamber A, as a reference to the northern stars, the circumpolar realm and the world axis. Chamber B seems to symbolise the netherworld.
{"title":"Celestial Aspects of Hittite Religion, Part 2: Cosmic Symbolism at Yazilikaya","authors":"E. Zangger, E. Krupp, Serkan Demirel, R. Gautschy","doi":"10.1558/JSA.17829","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JSA.17829","url":null,"abstract":"Evidence of systematic astronomical observation and the impact of celestial knowledge on culture is plentiful in the Bronze Age societies of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Europe. An interest in astral phenomena is also reflected in Hittite documents, architecture and art. The rock-cut reliefs of 64 deities in the main chamber of Yazilikaya, a Hittite rock sanctuary associated with Hattusa, the Hittite capital in central Anatolia, can be broken into groups marking days, synodic months and solar years. Here, we suggest that the sanctuary in its entirety represents a symbolic image of the cosmos, including its static levels (earth, sky, underworld) and the cyclical processes of renewal and rebirth (day/night, lunar phases, summer/winter). Static levels and celestial cyclicities are emphasised throughout the sanctuary – every single relief relates to this system. We interpret the central panel with the supreme deities, at the far north end of Chamber A, as a reference to the northern stars, the circumpolar realm and the world axis. Chamber B seems to symbolise the netherworld.","PeriodicalId":36192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Skyscape Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45291483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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