Archeoastronomy Essay

Archeoastronomy is the study of astronomy in ancient cultures. All ancient cultures didn’t have the understanding of science that exists now, so historians can use their artifacts to discover what they believed about the stars and sky. Many civilizations were interested in astronomy and had different ways of studying it to form their ideas, which usually included mythology. By examining monuments and writings, people now can learn what the ancient cultures knew about astronomy.
One way Archeoastronomy is studied by studying Stonehenge. Stonehenge was built between 7500 and 4500 B.C. The ancient civilizations that lived there used Stonehenge to track the sun and the moon. It’s heel stone lines up with the midsummer sunrise and halfway between the major and minor positions of the moon. Stonehenge also lines up with the midwinter sunset and the southern rising of the moon. It is most famous for tracking the summer solstice. Scientists have tried to figure out what was aligned on purpose and what was just a coincidence, but it is still unknown. By studying Stonehenge, people now know that there were people in England during this time period, and that they valued tracking the sun and the moon.
The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids with the same dimensions as the Earth, with a 1:43200 ratio, which was a commonly used ratio and number there. The pyramids and the sphinx are aligned with the equinoxes and with a North South Longitude line and with the star Thuban in Draco, but some argue they were made to align with Orion's belt. The ancient Egyptians also charted and divided constellations to represent tombs and used Sirius to track each new year. By studying archeoastronomy, it is known astronomy was influential in the religion, culture, and science of