Explores the methods, instruments, and observations of the ancient astronomers, noting their significance to modern science and the importance of such findings as Stonehenge and American Indian petroglyphs

Popular, authoritative look at the world of archaeoastronomy, the study of ancient peoples' observation of the skies and its role in their cultural evolution. 208 illustrations.

The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy combines new scholarship with hands-on science to bring readers into direct contact with the work of ancient astronomers. While tracing ideas from ancient Babylon to sixteenth-century Europe, the book places its greatest emphasis on the Greek period, when astronomers developed the geometric and philosophical ideas that have determined the subsequent character of Western astronomy. The author approaches this history through the concrete details of ancient astronomical practice. Carefully organized and generously illustrated, the book can teach readers how to do real astronomy using the methods of ancient astronomers. For example, readers will learn to predict the next retrograde motion of Jupiter using either the arithmetical methods of the Babylonians or the geometric methods of Ptolemy. They will learn how to use an astrolabe and how to design sundials using Greek and Roman techniques. The book also contains supplementary exercises and patterns for making some working astronomical instruments, including an astrolabe and an equatorium. More than a presentation of astronomical methods, the book provides a critical look at the evidence used to reconstruct ancient astronomy. It includes extensive excerpts from ancient texts, meticulous documentation, and lively discussions of the role of astronomy in the various cultures. Accessible to a wide audience, this book will appeal to anyone interested in how our understanding of our place in the universe has changed and developed, from ancient times through the Renaissance.

Masterpiece of historical insight and scientific accuracy and the definitive work on Greek astronomy and the Copernican Revolution. Includes surveys of European and Islamic cosmologies of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

From stone age to space age, every human who has looked up at the night sky has seen the same stars in the same patterns. They reveal our entire history, as well as hinting at our ultimate fate. In Beneath the Night, Stuart Clark tells the full story of this relationship. From prehistoric cave art and Ancient Egyptian zodiacs to the modern era of satellites and space exploration, Clark reveals the history of a fascination that has shaped our scientific understanding; helped us navigate the terrestrial world; provided inspiration for our poets, artists and philosophers; and given us a place to project our hopes and fears. This is the story of the universe, and our place within it.

Archaeoastronomy is a discipline pioneered at Stonehenge and other megalithic sites in Britain and France. Many sites in the southwestern United States have yielded evidence of the prehistoric Anasazi's intense interest in astronomy, similar to that of the megalithic cultures of Europe. Drawing on the archaeological evidence, ethnographical parallels with historic pueblo peoples, and mythology from other cultures around the world, the authors present theories about the meaning and function of the mysterious stone alignments and architectural orientations of the prehistoric Southwest.