Programme Schedule

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Thursday, October 19th 2023. 4.00 pm UK time

Duane Hamacher: Dating Tasmanian Aboriginal oral traditions to the Late Pleistocene

Abstract

Australian Aboriginal people developed complex knowledge systems and committed them to memory through oral tradition. The length of time these traditions can be passed down while maintaining vitality is a topic of ongoing debate. Tasmanian Aboriginal traditions describe the flooding of the Bassian Land Bridge connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia and the presence of a "Great South Star". Using an archaeology of orality approach, we show that these traditions stretch back at least 12,000 years, providing critical information essential to the further development of theoretical and methodological frameworks regarding the nature and longevity of orality.

Biography

Duane Hamacher Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Australia

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Thursday, November 23rd 2023. 4.00 pm UK time

Andrea Rodríguez-Antón: Cultural astronomy in a conflict zone: the orientation of pre-Islamic funerary monuments in Western Sahara

Abstract

A variety of Prehistoric dry-stone monuments are ubiquitous in Western Sahara, a region delimited by the boundaries of the former Spanish colony. With either burial or ritual functions, these monuments are spread throughout the Sahara desert creating sacred landscapes and housing the memory of millennia of occupation. In the recent years, the orientation of more than 200 of those structures from various types was obtained in the Western Sahara occupied by Morocco, being the biggest sample of this type obtained in situ so far. In this seminar, a review of the main results of this analysis will be presented, which can provide new insights into the ideas about space, time, and death and the cultural changes and mobility of those peoples and contributes to the preservation of a highly threatened heritage that is immersed in a vast land currently under dispute.

Biography

Andrea Rodríguez-Antón PhD in Cultural Astronomy (Universidad de La Laguna, Spain), is a postdoc researcher at Institute of Heritage Sciences (INCIPIT-CSIC) in Santiago de Compostela (Spain). One of her main research lines is Archaeoastronomy of the Roman world, in particular the orientations of Roman towns and centuriations, but in the last years she has studied the role of astronomy in cultures from different periods in the Near East and in Western Sahara. In this region in particular, she participated in a research about the orientation of pre-Islamic funerary monuments and she is currently coordinating a project in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria) for the preservation of the astronomy in those lands, in the frame of project “Amanar: A refuge under the stars” (Galileo Mobile).

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Thursday, February 8th 2024. 4.00 pm UK time

Paul Burley: Written in the stars: Point pattern recognition and analysis of cultural artifacts

Abstract

Point pattern analysis (PPA) used in recent studies of archaeological site locations and preferences in landscapes have identified macroscale spatial transformation processes that relate Neolithic site distribution patterns to driving factors of the terrestrial environment. PPA may also be applied in the search for evidence of potential microscale spatial transformations of celestial events to cultural artifacts. This seminar focuses on 1) signs and symbols used by prehistoric and indigenous cultures to geo-reference terrestrial locations and astronomical events, and 2) use of point pattern recognition and analysis to identify geometrical relationships and astronomical events potentially depicted in Neolithic portable chalk art.

Biography

Paul Burley is a PhD candidate in archaeological geology at the University of Minnesota. His research interests concern cultural relationships with landscape and skyscape, including prehistoric and indigenous pictographic and architectural symbolism. His studies have examined spatial and temporal characteristics of Native American medicine wheels, and potential symbolism and signification associated with prehistoric architecture. As a consulting engineer and geologist he has conducted multi-disciplinary geotechnical, environmental and cultural resource investigations for over 40 years. His doctoral thesis addresses spatial and temporal relationships between British Early- to Middle-Neolithic earthen and chambered structures and elements of the surrounding landscape, seascape, and skyscape that may be key to recognizing and understanding the symbolism and signification expressed by monumental architecture.

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Thursday, February 22nd 2024. 4.00 pm UK time

Bernadette Brady: The cosmogonising features of the hypostyle hall in the Temple of Hathor, Dendera, Egypt

Abstract

The Egyptians upheld a longstanding tradition that can be traced back to the Old Kingdom, wherein they utilised tombs and temples to create, recreate, and uphold the divine cosmos. These tombs and temples were intricately designed to serve as microcosms of the universe, often allowing the tomb to establish its directional framework independent of actual cardinal points. By the time of the Ptolemaic and early Roman periods, this theme of temple and cosmos found expression in an inscription at Dendera that proclaimed, 'The sky is stable, the earth is stable, the people are stable.' This seminar will delve into the layout, orientations, and representations found in the celestial ceiling of the Dendera hypostyle hall. This case study reveals the Egyptian approach to celestial theology, which was crafted to ensure the stability of the cosmos.

Biography

Bernadette Brady holds a PhD in Anthropology (2012) an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology (2005) and an MA in Egyptology from Manchester University (2021). She is a lecturer for the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK. Her research interests lay in sacred geography, Egyptology and cultural astronomy. Bernadette was the course director for the 2019 BSS at Luxor on Egyptian Astronomy and lectures widely on this topic.

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Thursday, Mar 21st 2024. 4.00 pm UK time

Iza Steiner: First Light on Archaic Petroglyphs in East Central Utah as Solstice Markers

Abstract

This research questions whether nomadic hunter-gathers tracked solstices. East central Utah was inhabited by hunter-gatherers throughout prehistory with dateable evidence of fully sedentary Ancestral Puebloans and/or Fremont agriculturalists present from 900¬ – 1150 AD. The relatively short use of the area by agriculturalists was used as a timestamp in rock art palimpsests to identify older, repatinated images as hunter-gatherer. From petroglyph sites originally chosen by Archaic people low points in the horizon were measured and used to model solstice horizon events in Stellarium. A significant number of Archaic petroglyph sites were placed in the landscape to witness the first light of sunrise on winter solstice, while sunrise and sunset for summer solstice and winter sunset were also found at petroglyph sites more frequently than at the habitation and activity sites used as a control group. The paper concludes with potential pragmatic and sacred aspects of the hunter-gatherer relationship with the Sun and solstices.

Biography

Iza Steiner has been living in southern Utah for thirty years, where exposure to sun, wind, and stone strip one’s awareness to the bone. The stars pressing against the naked earth at night have inspired her to question how humans conceptualize the universe and understand time-space. Her study of calendrics and mythology as a “technical language” of astronomy, as described by de Santillana and von Hechend in Hamlet’s Mill, resulted in 2018 in the self-published Decoding the Night: Greek Myth as a Celestial Map. In 2022 she received an M.A. in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology through the University of Wales. Her current writing explores how Western culture and language structure our perception of the world contrasted with perspectives offered by traditional cultures. Iza shares a house in Castle Valley with her son and a cat, where she pursues spinning, weaving, gardening, brewing, and writing. Iza has received the 2022 Lionel Sims Award.

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Thursday, May 23rd 2024. 4.00 pm UK time

Natalia Sánchez Steiner and Diego Martínez Celis: Cosmological relations in the Muisca myth of Bachue

Abstract

This talk outlines the cosmological relations found in the Muisca myth of Bachue, a traditional narrative which originated in the sacred lake of Iguaque, located in Colombia (Northern Andes). An interdisciplinary approach was applied, considering archaeological, historical, ethnographic, astronomic, social, and climatic perspectives. It is suggested that Muiscas could have possibly seen in the night sky a huge and curved animal whose back was the Milky Way’s bulge. It is proposed that from El Infiernito archaeological site during the solstices between 700 AD to 1000 AD, when allegedly the Bachue myth originated, there were celestial and landscape alignments involving the Sun, the Milky Way and the Pleiades. The Muisca serpent-adorned cups could be interpreted as a representation of a cosmogonic/cosmological model, as concepts such as origin, opposition, duality, water and death, all present in the myth, were materialised in these unique ceramic pieces.

Biography

Natalia completed a master’s degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology with distinction (University of Wales Trinity Sain David) and holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering (Universidad Nacional de Colombia). Her research includes studying the cosmologies of contemporary non-indigenous people and skyscape archaeology in Colombia. She is a member of the Interamerican Society of Astronomy in Culture (SIAC), Galileo Commission and The Scientific and Medical Network (SMN). Mother of two children and dancer.

Diego has a master’s degree in Cultural Heritage and Territory (Universidad Javeriana - Colombia) and is a professional in Graphic Design (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) with experience in research, disclosure and management of archaeological heritage and rock art, in curating museum exhibitions and in editing and design of printed publications. He has served as coordinator of documentation and management projects of cultural and archaeological heritage and is author of books and articles on the same topic. Father of two sons.

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Thursday, June 20th 2024. 4.00 pm UK time

Steven Gullberg: Inka Cosmovision: Astronomy with a Quechua Worldview

Abstract

The Inkas worshipped the Sun, and their emperor was thought to be the son of the Sun. They conquered most of the Andes and their former empire is replete with examples of their astronomy. They used solar positions on the horizon for calendrical purposes and managed their crops and religious festivals in this manner. Many examples remain of their intentional light and shadow effects that demonstrate their sophisticated understanding of the Sun’s movement and of solar horizon events.

Evidence of their astronomy and cosmology can only be fully understood in its cultural context, and that is the focus of this presentation. We will explore the cosmic worldview of the Inkas’ living descendants from the frame of reference of the oral traditions that have been passed down from one Quechua generation to the next. In the past, much of Inka astronomy has been explored through a Western lens. Here you will become acquainted with aspects of Inka astronomy, cosmovision, and culture from the perspective of the Quechua people.

Biography

Steven R. Gullberg, Ph.D., FRAS is Professor of Cultural Astronomy at the University of Oklahoma, chair of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Astronomy in Culture and Managing Editor of the Journal of Astronomy in Culture.

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Thursday, Jul 4th 2024. 4.00 pm UK time

*** We regret that we have had to postpone this session until further notice. We apologise for the inconvenience. ***

Alistair Coombs: Timing Death Carnivals at Taş Tepeler

Abstract

It has not been common for Neolithic structures to emerge with art covering them, especially very old Neolithic structures. Yet, some of the earliest known Neolithic monuments demonstrate a rich and complex iconography which formed part of their experience as buildings participant in special social events. This iconography, together with artefacts and ritual paraphernalia records have yielded, becomes important when interpretations about the buildings are made which also applies to archaeoastronomical models. This seminar primarily examines the Taş Tepeler ('stone hill') sites of southeast Turkey, with special emphasis on Göbekli Tepe. Though debatable whether these part-subterranean monuments be conceived as pillars or as humanoid statues, the significance of solstices in prehistory for timing the ritual events their buildings witnessed, when boundaries between the living and the dead merged, is proposed. The importance of specific star groups and their belief-systems is also emphasized with the Gemini constellation forming a cosmic clock at the winter solstice period in question.

Biography

Alistair Coombs's PhD research dealt with states of consciousness and their religious images and for the past decade he has been interested in archaic themes in religion including archaeoastronomy, origins of the western zodiac and the basis for prehistoric calendars.

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Each Zoom session will consist of a 45 minute lecture, followed by questions from the audience. In total the seminar will not exceed 1.5 hours.

Please join us for a great chance to find out about skyscape archaeology and anthropology worldwide.

With our best wishes

The Journal of Skyscape Archaeology is the only academic journal in the world to explore the relationship between archaeolgical sites and the sky, stars and planets, including archaeoastronomy. The journal’s advisory board includes senior academics and researchers from across the field.

The Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture is a research and teaching centre at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. It examines the relationships between cosmology and culture through history, anthropology philosophy and archaeology. and teaches the Master’s degrees in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology and Ecology and Spirituality.