Archaeo Astronomy

Astronomy is a very old science, with our ancestors conducting the very first observations of the heavens. Greeks, Babylonians, and the Chinese all analyzed and recorded theories that are still respected today. Not only did they observe the sky with the naked eye, they also built archaeoastronomical sites. Sites like Newgrange, El Castillo, and Maeshowe all helped us understand the Earth and beyond more, but what makes them so special?

Newgrange was built in 3184 B.C. by Stone Age farmers in Boyne Valley, Ireland. It represented itself as a place of astronomical, ceremonial, spiritual, and religious importance. Newgrange is a dome-like structure with 97 large stones called kerbstones, engraved with symbols such as spirals, arcs, and chevrons. The passage and the chamber both line up with the rising sun on the winter solstice.

The Irish farmers who built Newgrange used the site to know when to plant their crops. During the start of the winter solstice, the sunlight goes the chamber. At the time, these archaeoastronomical sites were very new since Newgrange was built before Stonehenge and even the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Instead of focusing mainly on the astronomy of it, the farmers observed the agricultural aspect. In my opinion, I think that the Irish understood what the farmers were doing, and the farmers were very much ahead of their time.

El Castillo was built in the 11th century by the Mayans in Yucatan, Mexico. It is one of the many temples in the Chichen Itza site, and El Castillo dominates the center. The temple was heavily influenced by the Toltecs, another famous Mexican culture. El Castillo itself has 365 steps, one step for each year on the Mayan calendar. Each of the four sides have 91 steps, each step representing each day during a certain season. Not only was it used to know when the equinoxes and solstices came along, El Castillo was also used as an urban center. The temple reveals the Mayans and Toltecs’ vision and opinion