archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is the study of how past cultures understood and related to celestial phenomena. It examines how the sky influenced the design of monuments, calendars, and rituals, and how astronomical ideas shaped social and religious life. The field is interdisciplinary, combining archaeology, astronomy, anthropology, and the history of science.

Methods include measuring alignments, sightlines, and horizon profiles; modeling ancient skies; and testing interpretations against archaeological context. Researchers account for precession, landscape change, and weathering, and use both quantitative assessments and comparisons with ethnographic knowledge to avoid assuming intentional astronomical meaning where none is evident.

Common topics are solar and lunar alignments to calendrical events, celestial symbolism in architecture, and the use of astronomy in navigation and agriculture. Notable examples include Newgrange, which aligns with the winter solstice sunrise; Stonehenge, associated with solstitial phenomena; and various Mesoamerican and Egyptian monuments linked to planetary or stellar cycles. Many proposed connections remain debated and require corroborating evidence.

Archaeoastronomy thus sheds light on how societies integrated the sky into daily life and ritual, while stressing methodological caution and contextual analysis to avoid overinterpretation.