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Foundations of New World Cultural Astronomy: A Reader with Commentary
Contributor(s): Aveni, Anthony (Editor)
ISBN: 0870819003     ISBN-13: 9780870819001
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
OUR PRICE:   $38.56  
Product Type: Paperback
Published: September 2008
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Annotation: Gazing into the black skies from the Anasazi observatory at Chimney Rock or the Castillo Pyramid in the Maya ruins of Chichen Itz??, it's easy to wonder what ancient stargazers looked for in the skies and what they saw. Once considered unresearchable, these questions now drive cultural astronomers, who draw on written and unwritten records and a constellation of disciplines to reveal the wonders of ancient and contemporary astronomies. Cultural astronomy has evolved at ferocious speed since its genesis in the 1960s, with seminal essays and powerful rebuttals published in far-flung, specialized journals. Until now, only the most closely involved scholars could follow the intellectual fireworks. In Foundations of New World Cultural Astronomy, one of cultural astronomy's founders and top scholars, Anthony Aveni, offers a personal selection of the essays that built the field, from foundational to contemporary pieces.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social
- Social Science | Archaeology
- Science | Astronomy
Dewey: 520
LCCN: 2008020144
Physical Information: 1.63" H x 6.06" W x 8.9" (2.44 lbs) 768 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Gazing into the black skies from the Anasazi observatory at Chimney Rock or the Castillo Pyramid in the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza, a modern visitor might wonder what ancient stargazers looked for in the skies and what they saw. Once considered unresearchable, these questions now drive cultural astronomers who draw on written and unwritten records and a constellation of disciplines to reveal the wonders of ancient and contemporary astronomies.

Cultural astronomy, first called archaeoastronomy, has evolved at ferocious speed since its genesis in the 1960s, with seminal essays and powerful rebuttals published in far-flung, specialized journals. Until now, only the most closely involved scholars could follow the intellectual fireworks. In Foundations of New World Cultural Astronomy, Anthony Aveni, one of cultural astronomy's founders and top scholars, offers a selection of the essays that built the field, from foundational works to contemporary scholarship.
Including four decades of research throughout the Americas by linguists, archaeologists, historians, ethnologists, astronomers, and engineers, this reader highlights the evolution of the field through thematic organization and point-counterpoint articles. Aveni - an award-winning author and former National Professor of the Year - serves up incisive commentary, background for the uninitiated, and suggested reading, questions, and essay topics. Students, readers, and scholars will relish this collection and its tour of a new field in which discoveries about ancient ways of looking at the skies cast light on our contemporary views.