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Paleolithic and neolithic civilizations
Paleolithic and neolithic civilizations
Paleolithic and neolithic civilizations
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Drake Dietrich
5/9/17
3B
Astronomy of Different Early Civilizations Astronomy is the study of the sun, moon, stars, planets, comets, gas, galaxies and other non-Earthly bodies and phenomena. Since the beginning of time, people have been interested in the sky. Everywhere from the mountains of South America to the deserts of the Middle East, there has been an interest in astronomy. In the Mayan culture, astronomy was very important to their everyday lives. The Mayans believed that the sky was essential for communicating with their gods and different constellations in the sky would mean that it was time to plant their crops. The Pleiades star cluster would appear in the sky in late April which would tell the Mayans to plant their crops. The
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The Incan empire was covered 375,000 square miles of South American land. The center of the empire was located in the Andes Mountains of Modern-day Peru near Cuzco. The city of Cuzco was laid out to mimic the sky and point to specific celestial events. The Incan year was started by the rising of the Pleiades star cluster. The Incas called Pleiades the “Seven Kids” because of the seven brightest stars in the cluster. The Incas used astronomy as a tool for their agriculture. The Incas would build pillars placed in certain positions on the hills overlooking Cuzco. When the sun would rise between a certain set of pillars, that would signal it was time to plant at a specific altitude. The Incan people would often make sacrifices to the Sun in hopes that it would rise in a certain spot. The Incas built observatories that would capture the first and last rays of sun. One Incan observatory was called “Coricancha.” This observatory was completely covered in gold and it had a golden disk that faced the sun. This sight however was destroyed by the Spanish when they came to the Incan …show more content…
Objects in the sky represented a number of gods to the Egyptians. The constellation “Orion” represented the god of death and the afterlife “Osiris.” The Milky Way represented the goddess “Nut,” who gave birth to the sun god “Ra.” In ancient Egyptian drawings, Nut is shown covering the earth with her body which means that she also represents the sky. The stars were the god of writing Seshat and the moon was either Thoth, the god of wisdom or Khons who is a child moon god. The Egyptians also used astronomy for practical purposes. Every year the center of Egyptian life, the Nile River, would flood. Ancient Egyptian astronomers were able to correlate the flooding of the Nile River to the Summer Solstice. Egyptian astronomers also used the star Sirius as a way to predict the flood because it would rise before the sun. The Egyptians also built their pyramids and temples in line with the stars and constellations. Some temples were built in line with the rise and set of a certain star to honor certain events like harvest time or they were built so the sun would shine in the doorway only once a year. Another way the Egyptians built their temples was by placing a number of window in a certain spot so that the the sun would shine in on a picture of a god and illuminate
It is very likely that most people have heard about the Mayan Civilization in one way or another. Whether fictitious or factual, this ancient culture iw idelt recognized. The Mayan people lived from about 250 to 900 CE in Mesoamerica. Which includes modern day Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and parts of southern Mexico.These people had many remarkable achievements, all of which can fit under the categories of scale, genius effort, and significance. These achievements include an advanced trade system, an amazing understanding of numbers, and the ability to design and build cities that are still mostly standing today. However, their most impressive achievement is their complex calendars.
Their religion also emphasized ancestor worship. At its basis,Incan religious beliefs were intimately connected with nature and included the belief that Inca rulers were direct descendants of the sun god, Inti.”The Inca Empire, also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and possibly the largest empire in the world in the early 16th century. One of the Inca civilization's most famous surviving archaeological sites is Machu Picchu, which was built as a retreat for an Incan emperor”. The Incas called their empire Tawantinsuyu, the “Land of the Four Corners,” and its official language was Quechua.The city proper had a population of around 40,000 with another 200,000 in the surrounding area at the time of the Spanish conquest. Cuzco was also an important component in the propaganda of Inca rule. It was encouraged to be venerated by Inca subjects as a sacred
It was a complex society located in the Andes Mountains of South America. The center of the Incan Empire, and it’s capital was Cuzco. They were attacked by neighboring Chancas, they all fled but one of the emperor’s sons, Yupanqui, led an army to against the Chancas. They defeated them and the victory made his people the strongest group in the area. The Incas had several ways of bringing groups of people into their empire. If they did not accept their terms, the other alternative was war. The Emperor of the Incan Empire lived in splendor. Everything in the empire belonged to the emperor. The wonders: fine gardens, golden statues, and jars made of gold and silver studded with emeralds amazed the Spanish when they came to Cuzco. In the 1500s, Francisco Pizarro, led a conquest, seeking riches, to the Incan Empire. Francisco Pizarro invaded the Inca Empire. With them, they brought European diseases and it spread throughout the Incan empire. The Incan Empire was already being weakened by two ruling brothers. Pizzaro conquered the Incas and gained wealth and brought riches as well.
The Inca Empire, the massive nation that extended 2,500 miles along the western coast of South America and had a population of over 7 million at its peak. It included all of what is now Ecuador and Peru and most of Chile. Known as “The Children of the Sun”, they excelled at craftsmanship, weaving, and culture (“Children of the Sun”). A very religious people, they worshiped the Sun as their supreme god and held religious festivals monthly to appease these gods. Although they did not value it aside from its beautiful appearance, the Inca Empire was home to millions of pounds of solid gold and silver. The Inca had no use for it except to use it to craft decorations and statues. In fact, an Inca citizen valued cloth more than they valued gold or silver. Their collapse would be brought about because of the Spanish invasion, a brutal civil war that weakened the empire, and deadly disease brought over from Europe.
What is astronomy? Astronomy consist of a lot of things that make up our solar system such as: the nine planets, asteroids, meteorites, the moon and the sun. Astronomy is also a fascinating hobby that can be followed by anyone. You do not need to be, as some people seem to imagine, ‘mathematically-minded’ , in order to start, or even to become a very experienced observer. Yet astronomy is one of the few hobbies where not only can you gain great enjoyment, but if you feel want to can very easily make observations of great scientific value.
Ancient Egyptians tried to understand their place in the universe. This is why their mythology is centered on nature such as the earth, sky, moon, sun, stars, and the Nile River. There are many Egyptian myths of creation, but the Heliopolitan Tradition, Hermopolitan Ogdoad, and the Memphite Theology are the most commonly used. They all have some common elements and gods. For example, many of t...
...lieve the stars guide your life and look to them for answers. Or if you just love a night gazing at the beauty of the twinkling heavens. There is no denying the amazing impact that the stars have on humanity.
Throughout history different cultures have let astronomy shape their beliefs and customs. One such culture that has traditions rich in astronomy is the Japanese culture. Since I am half Japanese, I thought I would discuss some of the traditions found in Japanese culture. Further, I will explain how these aincient traditions and beliefs are still present in modern day society in Japan. I found some really great websites which I will use to write my essay. The first website focuses primarily on Japanese festivals/traditions and how astronomy plays a part in Japanese festivals/traditions. The "Astrologers Union of Japan" homepage is great, but the whole website is written in Japanese. Astroarts has a great Japanese astronomy page which offers a cornucopia of astronomical info....the links are great too! Please bear with me as I am learning new things too.
The Maya made observations of the celestial bodies, recording astronomical data on the movements of the Sun, the Moon, Venus and the stars. This information was used for divination, since Maya astronomy essentially served astrological purposes. The purpose of Maya astronomy was used by the priesthood to understand the past cycles of time, and to project them into the future in order to make prophecies.
Maya civilization was based mainly on agriculture and religion. Maya every day life revolved around an innumerable number of earth Gods. The most important God was chief, ruler of all Gods. The Mayans prayed to these God’s particularly about their crops. For example, they prayed to the Rain God to nourish their crops. They practiced their religion during ceremonies conducted by priests. They also practiced confession and even fasted before important ceremonies (Gann and Thompson 1931 118-138). The Mayans also b...
The ancient Mayans, a diverse group of indigenous people who lived in the Yucatan Peninsula, had one of the most sophisticated civilizations in the Western Hemisphere. They were responsible for a number of remarkable scientific achievements in agriculture, astronomy and communications.Early Mayans developed a farming society, they were able to adapted to their environment buy using a system of clearing the dense rain forests called slash and burn which made farming easier. their farming consisted of their most important crop, maize. They would also cultivated beans, squash, maize together they called this process the three sisters this was important to the Mayan because it was a nutritionally complete diet. Astronomy was one of the greatest achievements of the Mayan Empire, The Mayans knew how many days were in a year and also developed a calendar according to their knowledge of astronomy. Another great achievement of the Mayan Empire is their system ...
"The Egyptian sun god Ra, considered the father of all pharaohs, was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before creating all other gods. The pyramid’s shape is thought to have symbolized the sun’s rays" (Donald B. Redford, Ph.D., Penn State).[2]
Consider astronomy one of the most ancient scientific disciplines known to human mankind. The observation of stars and planets was well known already to ancient civilizations from the Mayan to the Babylonians as these were recorded by historical records such as astral apes, and like this one are of Hispanic origin and is Japanese in this fear based on a Korean map of the 14th century. The ancient Greek had developed a very sophisticated astronomical system with Ptolemy in the second century A.D. In the solar system planets moved along orbital shells. This was the simplest astronomical hypothesis but it requires some tweaks to account for some anomalous phenomena.
As the awareness of astrology increased many people/civilizations around the world developed new ideas about how to apply astrology into their lives. They began to see how it could apply to their own individual lives, as well as major world events. Ancient people believed that the stars were a reflection of what the gods were doing in the heavens. Farmers began to use stars as a source of how and when to plant their crops and maintain cattle. For example, whenever Polaris, the North Star, appeared in the sky, farmers used its guiding light to safely get ...
Ever since the beginning of time there have been stars. Not only stars in the sky, but moons, planets, and even galaxies! Astronomy is defined as the branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole. In other words it is the study of space, planets, and stars. Throughout the ages, many people have used astronomy to help them learn about the universe, our own planet, and even make predictions about life itself. Understanding astronomy means understanding where it originated, the different groups/cultures that used it, and modern purposes of the science of the stars.