Professor: Roger Chevalier;
Room 251C, Astronomy Building (530 McCormick Rd., across from new dining hall);
e-mail: rac5x@virginia.edu. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions
regarding the course.
Office Hours: 11-12 a.m. Mon., Fri.; 2-3 pm Wed.; by appointment (call 4-4889, e-mail, check at class); or drop by
This course will cover the use and practice of astronomy among ancient cultures and among more recent cultures outside the Western scientific tradition. All forms of evidence will be used - written, building and stone structures, and anthropological evidence. Cultures with a written record allow for a deeper study and will thus be emphasized. We will begin by going over the types of astronomical phenomena that might be observed, in order to evaluate the possible astronomical records. The records are often fragmentary, so we must take a skeptical view. One aim of the course is the development of a sense of the plausibility of archaeoastronomical claims. We will also look at the role of astronomy in the culture. However, this is an astronomy course which can be used for science credit, so the emphasis will be more on the astronomy and math than on the anthropology and archaeology. In the area of archaeology, the emphasis will be on modern scientific techniques. Note that the course satisfies the non-Western perspective requirement in the College.
This course lists another astronomy course as a co-requisite, but this is not an absolute requirement. We will cover the basic astronomy in class. The part of ASTR 121 covering basic motions in the solar system is the most relevant to this course.
I do not take attendance, but strongly encourage regular attendance; it will certainly help your grade. There will be some items on tests from class discussion.
The Starry Nights program will be used to illustrate various aspects of naked eye astronomy. The ability to change time and place on Earth is especially useful for archaeoastronomy. An aim of the course is to gain some facility with naked eye astronomy.
Some mathematics is needed to appreciate the achievements of ancient cultures. For example, the Maya worked in a base 20 system which takes some getting used to; on the bright side, they never developed fractions or long division. There will be 2 homework assignments to provide experience in some aspects of astronomy and Mayan mathematics and calendrics. There will probably be an additional homework assignment on Babylonian, Egyptian, and Chinese astronomy.
A 5 page paper on some aspect of archaeoastronomy or ethnoastronomy is due on December 3, 2008. This can be on a topic that we do not cover in class, or can go more deeply into an area that we do cover. Please use more than one source for your report so that you give a balanced view. Some books take a far out point of view and, by themselves, are convincing. I would like a 1 page statement of your topic and sources by November 3, 2008 so that I be sure that you are on track. As an alternative to a paper, it will be possible to prepare powerpoint or material for a web site. Your material might become part of a general web site on archaeoastronomy.
Texts: A. Aveni, Skywatchers, Texas, 2001. This is a source for basic naked eye astronomy, as well as astronomy in Mesoamerica, especially Mayan astronomy. Revised and updated version of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico 1980.
O. Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, Dover, 1969. We will use this for Babylonian and Egyptian astronomy. Neugebauer was the greatest researcher in these areas. The book also covers Greek astronomy, but that is the beginning of our scientific tradition and outside the range of this course. The book is not recent, but the fundamental progress in this area was made in past decades.
David Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries, Oxford, 1991. This book puts forth an astronomical interpretation for the iconography of Mithraism. It is speculative, but interesting.
Course topics
Introduction and overview (1-2 classes)
Naked eye astronomy (2 weeks; Chap. 3 in Aveni) - this will be based on the modern scientific view. Our aim is to develop a mental picture of the motions of the earth, sun, moon, etc. that are important for naked eye astronomy. The ancient astronomers did not work in terms of bodies moving in space, but this type of model provides a basis for the observed motions.
Mayan astronomy from writings (2-3 weeks; Chap. 4 in Aveni) - Mayan mathematics and calendrics; eclipses; Venus; constellations; large numbers; cosmological ideas
Building (and other) alignments in the Americas (1 week; Chap. 5 in Aveni) - Maya buildings; medicine wheels; Nazca lines
Mesopotamian astronomy (2 weeks; Chaps. 2, 3, and 5 in Neugebauer) - mathematical systems and tables; types of astronomical observations; zodiac; advances in later period
Ancient Egyptian astronomy (1 week; Chap. 4 in Neugebauer) - Egyptian mathematics; calendars; decans; star clocks; cosmological ideas
Graeco-Roman (1 week; Ulansey book) - Mithraism and precession; Antikythera mechanism
Islamic astronomy (1-2 classes)
Ancient Chinese astronomy (2 weeks) - Chronicles were kept by the various dynasties; cosmological ideas; coordinate systems and armillary spheres; observations of shadows; the Chinese kept detailed records of unusual events and we will especially look at their supernova records
European standing stones (1-2 weeks) - types of megalithic structures; Stonehenge and its relation to other standing stones; astronomical vs archaeological interpretations
Special topics (any remaining time) - Polynesian navigation by stars; Australian aboriginal astronomy
Grade Based On:
Test 1 (10/10)
0% or 15% (your lowest
Test 2 (11/10)
0% or 15% quiz/exam grade
Final exam (Tues. 12/16, 9-12 am) 20% or 35%
will count least)
Homework
17%
Observing project
8%
Paper
25%
On problems that require a numerical answer or some steps of reasoning, please show you work. If you do not show your work, you may lose some credit.
The point of the observing project is to see how the sky changes over a period of months (Aug. - Nov.). We will be especially concerned with looking at the Sun, Moon, or visible planets roughly 4-5 times during the semester. The idea is to see for yourself some of the astronomical phenomena that we will be discussing. Note the time, place, and direction of your observation. The best times of observation will be around sunset and sunrise, although other types of observations can be made during the night. I will give more details soon. Your notes (1-2 pages) should be handed in by December 1, 2008. This can be undertaken as a group effort, but specify that this is the case and everybody should contribute; I will expect proportionately more from a group than from an individual. It is important that these be actual observations and not a "guess" of what you might see. If you go considerably beyond the basic requirements on this and do an especially good job, there is the possibility of getting extra credit for an additional 20-30% of the credit for this unit.
Please talk to me ahead of time if you need to miss an exam. If you miss an exam without a valid reason, you will lose 10% off your score.
Late Homework: 5% off for each weekday late for up to 50% off. No homework will be accepted after Dec. 3.
On homework, you are welcome to work in a group, but please write up solutions on your own.
Class participation is encouraged. Archaeoastronomy is a topic with many speculative aspects. Your ideas may be better than those in the books. In addition to verbal questions, you will have the opportunity to ask questions on note cards. Please write your name on the card. Strong participation can result in a grade increase if you are near a boundary.
OUTLINE
| 8/27 | (W) | Introduction |
| 8/29 | (F) | Starry Night; naked eye astronomy: what do we see |
| 9/1 | (M) | Naked eye astronomy |
| 9/3 | (W) | Celestial sphere, Earth's rotation, precession (Aveni, 49-67) |
| 9/5 | (F) | Eclipses, saros cycle, lunar standstills (Aveni, 67-80) |
| 9/8 | (M) | Motions of planets (Aveni, 80-94) |
| 9/10 | (W) | Finish astronomy (extinction, refraction); Last day to DROP (9/11) |
| 9/12 | (F) | Maya: overview; Homework 1 handed out; Last day to ADD (9/13) |
| 9/15 | (M) | Maya |
| 9/17 | (W) | Maya: number system |
| 9/19 | (F) | Maya: Long count calendar, tzolkin |
| 9/22 | (M) | Maya: haab, supplementary series |
| 9/24 | (W) | Maya: eclipses, Venus |
| 9/26 | (F) | Maya: Venus; Homework 1 due, homework 2 handed out |
| 9/29 | (M) | Venus; correlation problem |
| 10/1 | (W) | Correlation problem; Cerros |
| 10/3 | (F) | Teotihuacan; Sites in Americas; Andean astronomy |
| 10/6 | (M) | Americas; Babylonia; Homework 2 due |
| 10/8 | (W) | Babylonia; review, as needed |
| 10/10 | (F) | First TEST |
| 10/13 | (M) | Reading day; no class |
| 10/15 | (W) | Babylonia |
| 10/17 | (F) | Babylonia |
| 10/20 | (M) | Babylonia |
| 10/22 | (W) | Egypt |
| 10/24 | (F) | Egypt |
| 10/27 | (M) | Egypt |
| 10/29 | (W) | Mithraism |
| 10/31 | (F) | Mithraism; Antikythera mechanism |
| 11/3 | (M) | Islamic astronomy; 1 page ``proposal'' for paper due |
| 11/5 | (W) | Ancient China |
| 11/7 | (F) | Review; Ancient China: armillary spheres, cosmology |
| 11/10 | (M) | Second TEST |
| 11/12 | (W) | Ancient China: supernovae, Earth's rotation |
| 11/14 | (F) | Ancient China |
| 11/17 | (M) | Archaeological dating |
| 11/19 | (W) | Megalithic astronomy: ditches, banks |
| 11/21 | (F) | Megalithic astronomy |
| 11/24 | (M) | Megalithic astronomy |
| 11/26 | (W) | Thanksgiving break, no class |
| 11/28 | (F) | Thanksgiving break, no class |
| 12/1 | (M) | Megalithic astronomy; observing notes due |
| 12/3 | (W) | Megalithic astronomy; Topics in ethnoastronomy; 5 page PAPER DUE; last day for late homework |
| 12/5 | (F) | Review; last class |
| 12/16 | (Tues) | FINAL EXAM, 9-12 am in Clark 107 |
FINAL EXAMINATIONS: The final examination of each course may be given ONLY at the time listed in the Course Offering Directory. Students may request that a final exam be postponed only when they face at least three examinations within a two-day period (not extending over an intervening Sunday). Students must follow the established procedure for doing this.