- Presents snapshots of cultural and archaeoastronomy from around the world
- Examines many mediums, including sculpture, architecture, urban planning, and art
- Written in a nontechnical poetic style for any general readers
For centuries, our ancestors carefully observed the movements of the heavens and wove that astronomical knowledge into their city planning, architecture, mythology, paintings, sculpture, and poetry. This book uncovers the hidden messages and advanced science encoded within these sacred spaces, showing how the rhythmic motions of the night sky played a central role across many different cultures.
Our astronomical tour transports readers through time and space, from prehistoric megaliths to Renaissance paintings, Greco-Roman temples to Inca architecture. Along the way, you will investigate unexpected findings at Lascaux, Delphi, Petra, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, and many more archaeological sites both famous and little known. Through these vivid examples, you will come to appreciate the masterful ways that astronomical knowledge was incorporated into each society’s religion and mythology, then translated into their physical surroundings.
The latest archaeoastronomical studies and discoveries are recounted through a poetic and nontechnical narrative, revealing how many longstanding beliefs about our ancestors are being overturned. Through this celestial journey, readers of all backgrounds will learn the basics about this exciting field and share in the wonders of cultural astronomy.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction to Archaeoastronomy Topics
- Basics of Astronomy and Archaeoastronomy
- World’s Earliest Art and Architecture
- Neolithic Art, Architecture, and Astronomy
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in the British Isles
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in England
- Hinduism and Cosmology in India
- Art, Archaeology, and Astronomy at Angkor Wat Temple
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy of Buddhism
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in China
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in Classical Greece
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy of Petra
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in the Roman Empire
- Astronomy and Cosmology in the Middle Ages
- Renaissance Art and Astronomy
- Astronomy at Teotihuacan
- Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in South America
