id
	10481
Url
	https://chloe.cnr.it/s/BiDiAr/item/10481
Resource template
	Academic Article
Resource class
	bibo:AcademicArticle
Title
	Man and sky: problems and methods of Archaeoastronomy
Creator
	Polcaro, Andrea
	Polcaro, Vito Francesco
Date
	2009
Language
	eng
Rights
	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Abstract
	Archaeoastronomy is a discipline devoted to the study of the astronomical observations preceding the invention of the telescope. It is an interdisciplinary science, requiring the knowledge of astronomers, archaeologists, linguists, anthropologists and architects. It has highlighted the great importance that ancient civilizations attributed to celestial phenomena and demonstrated how the analysis of the testimonies of this interest can greatly help us in the understanding the past history of mankind. However, we must avoid the mistake of believing that it is possible to study the impact of celestial phenomena on ancient cultures without taking into account their context: unfortunately, this error is still common to date. This paper illustrates the evolution of Archaeoastronomy since the beginning of the 20th century, its basic principles and the modern methodologies for Archaeoastronomy measurements and data analysis. Moreover, the proofs needed to claim the actual intentionality of an astronomical alignment are discussed, showing the potential of Archaeoastronomy, as long as it is strongly linked to, and continuously compared with, excavation data, and combined with Archaeology in various cultural contexts, thus providing valuable assistance in the interpretation of material data.
Is Part Of
	https://chloe.cnr.it/s/BiDiAr/item/2002
Pages
	223–245
Uri
	http://www.archcalc.cnr.it/journal/id.php?id=516
Volume
	20
Homepage
	https://www.zotero.org/groups/5293298/bidiar/items/GQ5C5BK2/item-list

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