Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures

by Anthony F. Aveni

Stairways to the Stars serves as an introduction to archaeoastronomy, or the study of astronomy practiced by ancient cultures. It explores how the art of skywatching developed in the popular cultures and includes new revelations about three of the most popular and mysterious clues in ancient astronomy: What was the meaning of Stonehenge? What was the Mayan Code? Why was the elaborate Incan city of Cuzco build? The author combines the forefront research with illustrations and observations of these ancient cultures to create a stimulating journey through time and space.

Genres: History, Astronomy, Science, Nonfiction, Astrology, Mythology, Religion

230 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 1997

About the author

Anthony F. Aveni is Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy, Anthropology, and Native American Studies at Colgate University.

Reviews

[Owlseyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

ON STONEHENGE


https://curiosmos.com/here-are-50-rar...


https://www.newscientist.com/article/...

[Jack Luminous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo dobra książka wprowadzająca w tematykę archeoastronomii. Nie tylko pokazuje, co starożytni wiedzieli o gwiazdach, ale pozwala też "spojrzeć" na niebo ich oczami. Nacisk położony na zmianę perspektywy - na to, jak bardzo starożytne spojrzenie na gwiazdy różni się od współczesnego, zdeterminowanego przez nowożytną naukę - to bodaj największa zaleta tej książki. Ale nie jedyna!

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly boring as hell. Written poorly, as most textbooks are. Better for skimming and picking up interesting tidbits. The topics of the ancient civilizations that are described here, however, are fascinating. I didn’t know anything about these cultures before I read this, and the civilizations themselves are humbling, and awe-inspiring to learn about.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures (Hardcover)
by Anthony F. Aveni

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

very detailed and scientific. how the civilizations used the heavens to determine every event. forget modern astronomy and look up.

[Kevin Leung · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aveni describes how the Mayans, Incans, and people of Stonehenge managed to develop their calendars using basic structures and astronomy without the tools and math that we have today. He makes some very interesting observations about these cultures and how they relate to modern society. Particularly, he takes some initially confusing aspects and draws parallels to how we behave. For example, Mayans counted in base 20 but switched when discussing time. This seems arbitrary until we remember that we count in base 10, except for time, where we count up to 60 seconds or 60 minutes.

He adds a lot of diagrams, but the material itself is still somewhat technical, and the terminology can be hard to follow. Granted, I have no prior familiarity with astronomy, so perhaps these would be more accessible to others. If you're in my boat, however, you might be better served with another introduction to skywatching before reading this book.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

impulse buy, caught my eye, happens a lot. great introduction on how the ancients viewed the sky with the naked eye. introduces the reader to heavens message from three different cultures at three different latitudes, thus observing three different heavens.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book about how ancient cultures were a bit more aware of their place in the cosmos than we are. How things line up is interesting and improves one's understanding of ancient and prehistoric astronomy as a way of life.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

In every way, much better than the Krupp! Much more readable, so far, rather more accurate too!

[Ty]

Great, especially the first bit on basic background info in astronomy.