- 1 March 2007.
Solar
Observatory in Americas Found in Peru.
By Richard Harris, for NPR. Excerpt:
All things considered, archeologists may have
uncovered what they say is by far the oldest
astronomical observatory in the Americas:
a series of towers near a temple in coastal
Peru, built in the fourth century B.C. The
towers at Chankillo mark the sun's progress
across the sky, according to a new study in
Science. ...A few years ago, Ivan Ghezzi at
long last drummed up enough funding to excavate
the Chankillo site, and uncover its secrets.
...He quickly realized the towers had nothing
to do with the moon, but everything to do
with the sun. The key was viewing the sky
from either of two structures that stood nearby. "You could actually
watch the sunrise align with the northernmost
tower during the June solstice," he says. "And
with the opposite tower... you could see the
sunrise at the December solstice. So we realized
that here we had an astronomical device that
was designed to keep track of the movement
of the sun and therefore keep track of time." Built
2,300 years ago, the towers are by far the
earliest example of an observatory in the Americas....
- September 2006. Links from "Ancient
Native American Astronomy" article in
Reflector, newsmagazine of the Astronomical
League.
- Spiro
Mounds - Oklahoma - 12 mounds which contain
evidence of an Indian culture that occupied
the site from 850 A.D. to 1450 A.D. ...ceremonies
included the celebration of planting, harvesting,
and the changing of the seasons. Winter
Solstice Walks on Thursday, December 21,
2006, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center
by Dennis Peterson, about the mounds, the
history, excavations, stories, ceremonies
and why some of the mounds line up with
the Solstice and Equinox sunsets. http://www.myspiro.com/spiroMounds.asp
- Rock
Art sites in northwest Arkansas http://www.cast.uark.edu/rockart/
- Petroglyphs
in Washington State Park, Missouri.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Park
- 1 February 2006. Native
American stories of the stars. RON SEELY
- Wisconsin State Journal. Excerpt:
Native Americans ...had their eyesight and
a rich history of astronomical observation
passed on by ancestors ... those tools were
enough to allow them to develop an impressive
and practical understanding of the movements
of constellations, stars and planets. In fact,
stories about celestial objects, including
explanations for their origin and instructions
for their practical use as guides to navigation
and time, are woven deeply through all native
cultures, including those of Wisconsin's Native
Americans. Now, a new UW-Madison project is
helping students from the state's tribal reservations
understand that their ancestors also had a
sophisticated and accurate understanding of
the stars and the planets. Called "One
Sky, Two Views: Expanding Our Cultural Universe," the
program is the brainchild of Sanjay Limaye,
an astronomer, and Patty Loew, an associate
professor in the Department of Life Sciences
Communication and a scholar of Native American
history and issues. Loew, who is also a tribal
member of the Bad River Ojibwe near Ashland,
and Limaye, have already worked with students
from Bad River and plan other programs in
the coming weeks, including visits to several
other reservations... Making the connections
between the ancient stories and modern science
is an ideal way to get young tribal members
interested in a field such as astronomy, Pertzborn
said. "Their ancestors
watched the heavens," Pertzborn said. "They
collected data. And they made predictions.
And that's science!"
- 15 November 2004. Science@NASA Story. The
Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire. Scientists
are using space satellites to unravel one
of the great mysteries of the ancient world.
Where the rain forests of Guatemala now
stand, a great civilization once flourished.
The people of Mayan society built vast
cities, ornate temples, and towering pyramids.
At its peak around 900 A.D., the population
numbered 500 people per square mile in
rural areas, and more than 2,000 people
per square mile in the cities -- comparable
to modern Los Angeles County. This vibrant "Classic
Period" of Mayan civilization
thrived for six centuries. Then, for some reason,
it collapsed. The fall of the Maya has
long been one of the great mysteries of
the ancient world. But it's more than a
historical curiosity. Within sight of the
Mayan ruins, in the Petén region
of Guatemala near the border with Mexico,
the population is growing again, and rain
forest is being cut to make farmland.
"By learning what the Maya did right and
what they did wrong, maybe we can help local
people find sustainable ways to farm the land
while stopping short of the excesses that doomed
the Maya," says Tom Sever at the Marshall
Space Flight Center (MSFC).
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/15nov_maya.htm?list617264
- Slide show of South American astroarcheology images -- http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/archeo/01.html
- Jan 2002. Medicine Wheel Update (below)
- 20 December 2000 Decision
Turns Off the Trinity River Tap Article
in Berkeley Daily Planet
from Association on American Indian Affairs
Issue 150, Winter/Spring 2002
http://www.indian-affairs.org
As reported in previous editions of Indian Affairs, AAIA is providing legal representation to the Medicine Wheel Coalition in a lawsuit filed by a local logging company to overturn the landmark Historic Preservation Plan (HPP) designed to protect the sacred Bighorn Medicine Wheel and Medicine Wheel Mountain in Wyoming. The HPP was signed in 1996 by the Coalition, the Medicine Wheel Alliance and a number of federal, state and local governments, including the Forest Service. AAIA provided legal and organizational assistance to the Coalition during the seven year process that culminated in the HPP. The logging company is represented in this case by Mountain States Legal Foundation, a rightwing legal organization that has consistently opposed government efforts to voluntarily protect Native American sacred sites.
On December 6, 2001, the Federal District Court in Wyoming rendered a decision in this case (Wyoming Sawmills v. United States Forest Service) in favor of the Forest Service and the Medicine Wheel Coalition. It ruled that Wyoming Sawmills had no right to challenge the HPP based upon either the First Amendment or applicable environmental law. It also ruled that a claim could be filed based upon two narrower federal statute, but found that both the HPP and the process in which it was developed did not violate either statute.
This is a resounding victory not only for the Medicine Wheel Coalition and AAIA, but also and more importantly, a significant step toward permanent protection of the Medicine Wheel and Medicine Mountain and other sacred sites. Should Wyoming Sawmills appeal, AAIA will continue to provide legal representation to the Medicine Wheel Coalition.
Hard Copy Articles
- Oct 2002. An Astronomer Reads Archaeology's
Message,
by Patricia A. Kurtz. Article about archaeoastronomer
Anthony Aveni.
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See also: updates for PASS Vol 12, Stonehenge
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