Definition of archaeoastronomy in English:
archaeoastronomy
noun ˌɑːkɪəʊəˈstrɒnəmiˌärkēōəˈstränəmē
mass nounThe investigation of the astronomical knowledge of prehistoric cultures.
Also called astro-archaeology
Example sentencesExamples
- Robin Heath has explained how the Aubrey holes, the first phase of Stonehenge, were used to predict eclipses and has done much work generally in helping us understand ancient archeoastronomy in relation to stone circles.
- Anthony Aveni, a professor of astronomy and anthropology at Colgate University, and one of the pioneers of archaeoastronomy, suspects divination was a prime motivation of early scientists, particularly astronomers.
- An early result of that interest was his book Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, which helped establish the field of archaeoastronomy - the study of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, and cosmologies of ancient cultures.
- This all started when I was an archaeology under-graduate doing an essay on archaeoastronomy (how ancient sites align with heavenly bodies).
- An entire area of cognitive archaeology is taken up with archaeoastronomy - the study of ancient knowledge of celestial phenomena.