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The Remarkable Science of Ancient Astronomy
Listening Length 11 hours and 51 minutes
In a world without artificial lights, the night sky is ablaze with stars, whose patterns tell stories you have heard since childhood. The Sun, Moon, and stars are crucial to your daily existence, since they tell the time, direction, and when to plant and harvest. The perfect regularity of the heavens is the only guaranteed part of life and inspires deep religious and philosophical ideas, while unexpected events such as eclipses and comets incite fear.
Experience this ancient outlook with noted astrophysicist and historian of astronomy Professor Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University. An award-winning teacher, Dr. Schaefer takes you around the world, exploring the close relationship that people thousands of years ago had with the sky.
The Remarkable Science of Ancient Astronomy covers notable sites and phenomena such as Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, the Star of Bethlehem, the origin of constellations, Polynesian sky navigation, ancient calendars, and more. Understand the precise alignment of prehistoric monuments with the Sun and stars, learn how to use a medieval astrolabe, and decipher the workings of an astonishing ancient Greek computer called the Antikythera mechanism, which was centuries ahead of its time.
Using only their eyes, ancient astronomers got many things right, and their meticulous records have proved invaluable to modern astronomers, helping them calculate the slowing of Earth's rotation and the expanding stellar cataclysms called supernovae. Ancient astronomers truly laid the foundation for modern science.
In a world without artificial lights, the night sky is ablaze with stars, whose patterns tell stories you have heard since childhood. The Sun, Moon, and stars are crucial to your daily existence, since they tell the time, direction, and when to plant and harvest. The perfect regularity of the heavens is the only guaranteed part of life and inspires deep religious and philosophical ideas, while unexpected events such as eclipses and comets incite fear.
Experience this ancient outlook with noted astrophysicist and historian of astronomy Professor Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University. An award-winning teacher, Dr. Schaefer takes you around the world, exploring the close relationship that people thousands of years ago had with the sky.
The Remarkable Science of Ancient Astronomy covers notable sites and phenomena such as Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, the Star of Bethlehem, the origin of constellations, Polynesian sky navigation, ancient calendars, and more. Understand the precise alignment of prehistoric monuments with the Sun and stars, learn how to use a medieval astrolabe, and decipher the workings of an astonishing ancient Greek computer called the Antikythera mechanism, which was centuries ahead of its time.
Using only their eyes, ancient astronomers got many things right, and their meticulous records have proved invaluable to modern astronomers, helping them calculate the slowing of Earth's rotation and the expanding stellar cataclysms called supernovae. Ancient astronomers truly laid the foundation for modern science.
354 pages, Audiobook
First published December 5, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 29, 2022
یک دورهٔ دلچسب، شبیه دورهٔ ریشههای دین.
June 23, 2019
The lecturer was annoyingly patronising/ condescending in tone, but the content was very interesting.
February 3, 2024
Based on the title, I thought that I would get different information. I wasn’t a fan of how he presented his case about ancient people and their intentions with their monuments. We can’t even rebuild the pyramids to the accuracy that they did, so I think they knew a thing or two about what’s happening in the skies. I also did not like how he spent time trying to debunk his contemporaries. I wish she would’ve focused on presenting new information Based on his research.
October 4, 2023
Very interesting info. Would be better if he wasn't always trying to DEBOONK the silly giants he's standing on the shoulders of.
August 17, 2021
*** This ‘Great Course’ is truly a great course! 4 out of 5 stars! ***
“The Remarkable Science of Ancient Astronomy” chronicles the transition of astronomy from a qualitative science to a quantitative science and the decoupling of astronomy from astrology. It should be noted, however, that the title Science of Ancient Astronomy is a bit of a misnomer; the course would be more properly entitled the History of Ancient Astronomy. The focus of the course is the importance of the understanding – or the lack thereof – of astronomical phenomena on human history and the cumulative importance of the contributions of ancient astronomers on modern astronomy.
Kudos to Professor Schaefer for including the contributions of non-Western astronomers. Without diminishing the importance of the ancient Greeks on modern, Western Thought, the course also examines the discoveries of Chinese, Indian, Aboriginal, New World native peoples, and Islamic Golden Age scholars.
While acknowledging that this is a survey course taught from an archeological and anthropological perspective, as a geophysicist I question the exclusion of a discussion on the impact of continental drift on the alignment of ancient astronomical sites. Professor Schaefer devotes several lectures to Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, Maes Howe, and other archeological sites. He lauds the ancient architects for the near-perfect alignment of the structures to the cardinal directions or to various celestial directions, but doesn’t discuss whether the movement of the continents over the past several thousand years has thrown off the original alignment…or corrected it.
All in all, this is a worthwhile course and highly recommended for history and astronomy enthusiasts.
“The Remarkable Science of Ancient Astronomy” chronicles the transition of astronomy from a qualitative science to a quantitative science and the decoupling of astronomy from astrology. It should be noted, however, that the title Science of Ancient Astronomy is a bit of a misnomer; the course would be more properly entitled the History of Ancient Astronomy. The focus of the course is the importance of the understanding – or the lack thereof – of astronomical phenomena on human history and the cumulative importance of the contributions of ancient astronomers on modern astronomy.
Kudos to Professor Schaefer for including the contributions of non-Western astronomers. Without diminishing the importance of the ancient Greeks on modern, Western Thought, the course also examines the discoveries of Chinese, Indian, Aboriginal, New World native peoples, and Islamic Golden Age scholars.
While acknowledging that this is a survey course taught from an archeological and anthropological perspective, as a geophysicist I question the exclusion of a discussion on the impact of continental drift on the alignment of ancient astronomical sites. Professor Schaefer devotes several lectures to Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, Maes Howe, and other archeological sites. He lauds the ancient architects for the near-perfect alignment of the structures to the cardinal directions or to various celestial directions, but doesn’t discuss whether the movement of the continents over the past several thousand years has thrown off the original alignment…or corrected it.
All in all, this is a worthwhile course and highly recommended for history and astronomy enthusiasts.
September 17, 2026
This was dense but worth the hours.
L1: Stonehenge and Archaeoastronomy
L2: The Real Stonehenge
L3: Alignments at Maes Howe and Newgrange
L4: Astronomy of Egypt's Great Pyramid
L5: Chaco Canyon and Anasazi Astronomy
L6: Ancient Cosmologies and Worldviews
L7: Meteorite Worship and Start of the Iron Age
L8: Eclipses, Comets, and Omens
L9: The Star of Bethlehem
L10: Origins of Western Constellations
L11: Chinese and Other Non-Western Constellations
L12: Origins and Influence of Astrology
L13: Tracking Planet Positions and Conjunctions
L14: Ancient Timekeeping and Calendars
L15: The Lunar Crescent and the Islamic Calendar
L16: Ancient Navigation: Polynesian to Viking
L17: Breakthroughs of Early Greek Astronomy
L18: The Genius of Hipparchus
L19: Revealing the Antikythera Mechanism
L20: How the Antikythera Mechanism Worked
L21: Achievements and Legacy of Ptolemy
L22: Star Catalogs from around the World
L23: How Ancient Astronomy Ended
L24: Ancient Astronomy and Modern Astrophysics
October 22, 2020
So I used this just to listen to, and after the first 1-2 lectures, when I couldn’t sleep. The topic is not what I was expecting. I guess I expected archeo-astronomy and this is recorded history, ancient history, and basically a paean to the Greeks.
The topic was boring enough to drift off to, despite the weird format of chunks (so pauses while a title card would come up, again I am just listening). Not a fan of the lecturer’s way of speaking. But it worked for why I kept listening and some parts held the attention.
Wouldn’t recommend to myself YMMV
The topic was boring enough to drift off to, despite the weird format of chunks (so pauses while a title card would come up, again I am just listening). Not a fan of the lecturer’s way of speaking. But it worked for why I kept listening and some parts held the attention.
Wouldn’t recommend to myself YMMV
June 4, 2024
what i want from a course like this is-
what is ancient astronomy and what does it entail
what do we know about it
how do we know it
how has our understanding of it shifted over time
what caused those shifts (new discoveries, technologies)
how might our understanding be improved in the future
i do not want condescending chuckles, patronizing glibness, or an assumption that a modern understanding is somehow complete or ?morally superior?
and ffs don't casually refer to one of the ancient dead as "a cripple". no. just no.
dnf
what is ancient astronomy and what does it entail
what do we know about it
how do we know it
how has our understanding of it shifted over time
what caused those shifts (new discoveries, technologies)
how might our understanding be improved in the future
i do not want condescending chuckles, patronizing glibness, or an assumption that a modern understanding is somehow complete or ?morally superior?
and ffs don't casually refer to one of the ancient dead as "a cripple". no. just no.
dnf
July 23, 2025
3/5 stars
I found this very interesting and informative, although it seemed to tangent a bit often for what I like. Since this is exclusively an audiobook, I will factor that in as well. I know the author is not a trained voice actor, however, I would have liked a bit more editing of any errors.
I found this very interesting and informative, although it seemed to tangent a bit often for what I like. Since this is exclusively an audiobook, I will factor that in as well. I know the author is not a trained voice actor, however, I would have liked a bit more editing of any errors.
June 27, 2019
A very board survey of ancient and pre-scientific civilizations that used astronomy/astrology to navigate the world they lived in.
From navigation to predicting astronomical events for religious purposes, the ancients relayed heavily upon the stars.
From navigation to predicting astronomical events for religious purposes, the ancients relayed heavily upon the stars.
August 30, 2020
4 stars due to the unfortunate recording of narrative. There were many unnecessary pauses in recording. The pauses made listener think the lecture was over. However the content was great. Very interesting and not boring.
February 13, 2020
So good! I didn't think I'd enjoy this so much, but it filled so many gaps of knowledge in ancient history. The ancients were amazing.
June 7, 2023
This was very dense with a ton of good material. Will need a second read through to really grasp everything. This was an incredible course.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews