African Cultural Astronomy

Current Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy research in Africa
Softcover version of original hardcover Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-90-481-7687-8
Verlag: Springer Netherlands

Buch, Englisch, 260 Seiten, Previously published in hardcover, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 411 g

Reihe: Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings

This is the first scholarly collection of articles focused on the cultural astronomy of Africans. It weaves together astronomy, anthropology, and Africa and it includes African myths and legends about the sky, alignments to celestial bodies found at archaeological sites and at places of worship, rock art with celestial imagery, and scientific thinking revealed in local astronomy traditions including ethnomathematics and the creation of calendars. Authors include astronomers Kim Malville, Johnson Urama, and Thebe Medupe; archaeologist Felix Chami, and geographer Michael Bonine, and many new authors. As an emerging subfield of cultural astronomy, African cultural astronomy researchers are focused on training students specifically for doing research in Africa. The first part of the volume contains lessons and exercises to help the beginning student of African cultural astronomy. Included are exercises in archaeoastronomy, cultural anthropology, and naked-eye astronomy penned by authors who use these regularly use these methods for their research. This collection of lessons and research papers provides a foundation for the cultural astronomy researcher interested in doing work in Africa.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Holbrook, Jarita

Urama, Johnson O.

Medupe, R. Thebe

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Geschichte der Astronomie
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Umwelt und Kultur, Kulturökologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Kunstethnologie, Musikethnologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chasing the Shadow of the Moon: The 2006 Ghana Eclipse Conference.- The Use of Ethnographic Methods in Cultural Astronomy Research.- A Brief Outline on the Geographical Background of Africa.- The Astronomical Gnomon.- Naked-eye Astronomy for Cultural Astronomers.- Leadership.- Integrating African Cultural Astronomy into~the~Classroom.- A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Eclipses.- Teaching Cultural Astronomy: On the Development and Evolution of the Syllabus at Bath Spa University and the University of Wales, Lampeter.- Evidence of Ancient African Beliefs in Celestial Bodies.- Astronomy of Nabta Playa.- Romans, Astronomy and the Qibla: Urban Form and Orientation of Islamic Cities of Tunisia.- The Timbuktu Astronomy Project.- The Cosmological Vision of the Yoruba-Idààcha of Benin Republic (West Africa): A Light on Yoruba History and Culture.- The Relationship Between Human Destiny and the Cosmic Forces – A Study of the IGBO Worldview.- Cultural Astronomy in the Lore and Literature of Africa.- Astronomy and Culture in Nigeria.- Participation and Research of Astronomers and Astrophysicists of Black African Descent (1900–2005).