Archaeoastronism

Written by Astronist Institution

Edited by the Journal of Astronic History

Last updated: JAN. 12, 2020

I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager.

Archaeoastronism, also known as proto-astronism, is a collection of 121 ancient and prehistoric religions based on and around archaeoastronomical sites.

Archaeoastronism is classified as a collectivity of religions existing as a subcategory of the Astronic tradition. Each are directly derived from the notion that archaeoastronomical sites held religious intentions and utilities for their constructions. The most well-known of the archaeoastronist religions is the Stonehenge religion.

Branches of Archaeoastronism

List of archaeoastronomical sites

Armenia

Zorats Karer (aka Carahunge), archeological site claimed to have astronomical significance although this is disputed.

Australia

Ngaut Ngaut oral tradition says these engravings represent lunar cycles.
Wurdi Youang, a stone arrangement with possible solar alignments.

Brazil

Calçoene (called "Amazon Stonehenge")

Bulgaria

Magura Cave, Bronze Age "paintings of staggered black and white squares could have been used to count the days in a calendar month", possibly indicating the number of days in the solar tropical year.

Cambodia

Angkor Wat
Phnom Bakheng, According to Jean Filliozat of the École Française, the center tower represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the 4 lunar phases each with 27 days.

Canada

Colombia

El Infiernito, (Spanish for "Little hell"), is a pre-Columbian Muisca site located in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá Department, Colombia. It is composed of several earthworks surrounding a setting of menhirs (upright standing stones); several burial mounds are also present. The site was a center of religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites, and also served as a rudimentary astronomical observatory.

China

Puyang tomb, dated from 5000 BP, depicts a mosaic of constellations.
Taosi Observatory

Egypt

Abu Simbel, The axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that twice a year, on October 20 and February 20, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculpture on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god connected with the Underworld, who always remained in the dark.[9][10]
Nabta Playa
Precinct of Amun-Re

Finland

The so-called Giants' Churches (Finn. jätinkirkko), which are large, from c. 20 metres (66 ft) to over 70 metres (230 ft) long rectangular or oval stone enclosures built in the Neolithic (c. 3000–1800 BC), have axis and doorway orientations towards the sunrises and sunsets of the solstices and other calendrically significant days. For example, the Kastelli of Raahe, which is one of the largest Giants' Churches, had its five "gates", i.e. wall openings, oriented towards the midsummer sunset, the winter solstice sunrise, winter solstice sunset, the sunrises of the mid-quarter days of early May (Walpurgis, Beltaine) and August (Lammas), as well as the sunrise 11 days before the vernal equinox in 2500 BC.

France

Carnac stones

Germany

Guatemala

Honduras

Indonesia

India

For a full list see the chapter on India in the ICOMOS book edited by Clive Ruggles and Michel Cotte. These sites include:

J.M. Malville and Rana P.B. Singh have done much work on the archaeoastronomy of sacred sites in India.

Iran

Ireland

Newgrange, once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. (Generally accepted).
Knowth
Dowth
Loughcrew
Carrowkeel
Mound of the Hostages
Drombeg stone circle, at the winter solstice, the sun sets into a v formed by two distant overlapping hills and makes an alignment with the altar stone and the two main uprights. Due to the nature of the site and the western hills, local sunset is c. 15:50.
Beltany stone circle
Beaghmore Stone Circles, a complex of early Bronze Age megalithic features, stone circles and cairns. Some archaeologists believe that the circles have been constructed in relation to the rising of the sun at the solstice, or to record the movements of the sun and moon acting as observatories for particular lunar, solar or stellar events. Three of the stone rows point to the sunrise at the time of the solstice and another is aligned towards moonrise at the same period.

Italy

Kenya

Namoratunga

Korea

Cheomseongdae, ancient observatory in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea.

Malta

Mexico

Calakmul
Cantona
Cañada de la Virgen
Casas Grandes
Chichen ItzaThe Caracol is theorised to be a proto-observatory with doors and windows aligned to astronomical events, specifically around the path of Venus as it traverses the heavens. (Debated among specialists).
The main pyramid El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan) displays the appearance of a snake "crawling" down the pyramid at the spring equinox (Unproven).
Coba
Dzibilchaltun, Spring equinox, the sun rises so that it shines directly through one window of the temple and out the other.
Ik Kil - hierophany where the sunrise on the day of the solar zenith transit aligns with the summit of Ikil Structure 1 as viewed from an observation point within Ikil Cave 1.
Izamal
Mitla
Monte Alban, zenith tube
Palenque
La Quemada
El Tajín
Teotihuacan, the pecked-cross circles as survey-markers
Tulum
Uxmal, Venus alignment of the "Governor's Palace"
Xochicalco, zenith tube
Yagul

Netherlands

Hunebedden - Funnel Beaker Culture megalith graves ("hunebedden") in the eastern Netherlands might be oriented on moonrises.

North Macedonia

Kokino Situated 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen Summit near Kumanovo.(disputed)

Pakistan

Lahore Fort

Peru

Portugal

Romania

Sarmizegetusa Regia

Russia

Arkaim

Spain

Antequera Dolmens SitePeña de los Enamorados
Dolmen of Menga

Syria

Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights, territory occupied by Israel.

United Kingdom

Ballochroy
Boscawen-Un Winter Solstice sunrise out of the Lamorna Gap.
Bryn Celli Ddu – aligned with the summer solstice such that light illuminates a quartz rich stone at the back of the chamber.
Callanish Stones
Maeshowe, it is aligned so that the rear wall of its central chamber, a rough cube of five yards square held up by a bracketed wall, is illuminated on the winter solstice.
Prehistoric Orkney
St Edward the Confessor's Church, Leek. Traditional site for observing a double sunset.
Stonehenge (Generally accepted).
Woodhenge

United States

America's Stonehenge in New Hampshire
Anderson Mounds, Anderson, Indiana.
Bighorn Medicine Wheel
Cahokia, large Mississippian culture site with numerous solar and other alignmentsCahokia Woodhenge, equinox and summer solstice sunrise/winter solstice sunset aligned timber circle
Mound 72, summer solstice sunrise/winter solstice sunset aligned burial mound
Casa Malpaís Archaeological Site, Springerville, Arizona. Summer solstice at noon and sunset.
Chaco Canyon, cardinal orientations, meridian alignment, inter-pueblo alignmentsThe 3-Slab Site atop Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon, which marks the solstices.
Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, near Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Crack Cave at Picture Canyon (Colorado) in Comanche National Grassland
Emerald Mound and Village Site, Lebanon, Illinois
Haleets on Bainbridge Island in Washington state
Hovenweep Castle
Holly Solstice Panel in Hovenweep National Monument
Moorehead Circle, timber circle in Ohio
Octagon Earthworks
Serpent Mound
Skystone near Naches Trail in Washington state
Wally's Dome in Sacramento Mountains (New Mexico)

Keywords and linked resources

You may also be interested in

Vendox

solar_eclipse_april_2014_antarctica_aust

Astronism by country

Astrosis

Astronism

Outline • Glossary • by Country • Timeline

Key components

Cometan • Omnidoxy • Vendox • Institution • Cosmocentrism • Organised philosophy

Main beliefs

Astrocism • Astronic eschatology • Astrosis • Cosmosis • Eleuthonism • Great Departion • Humanic Exploration of The Cosmos • Intracosmism • Limitationism • Naturalism • Sentientism • Transcensionism • Transtellationism • Uniquitarianism

Main practices

Ethics and lifestyle

Astration • Astromancy • Astromeditation • Astronomical commemoration • Astrophotography • Cosmic devotion • Cosmomancy • Cosmopiry • Debatation • Retination • Starbathing • Stargazing • Starparty • Starsleeping • Startryst

Astrodora • Astronism and social issues • Astronist dietary customs • Astronist ethics • Astronomical tourism • Astrotherapy • Cosmic prayer • Noctism

Governance

Hyperstructure (Governorship • Kinship • Padronship) • Institutional Astronism • Institutional law • New Concept Development • Proprietorship • Recognition

Classification and history

Astronic religions (Prehistoric • Ancient • Modern • Contemporary) • Designation of Astronism • History of Astronism • History of the Astronic tradition • Meta-Astronism

Forms of Astronism

Cometanic • Contemporary • Dispositional • Empirical • Folk • Heterodoxical • Historical • Hyper • Hypo • Liberal • Omnidoxical • Orthodox • Philosophical • Postcursory • Practical • Rational • Religious • Spiritual • Syncretisms • Theoretical

Other elements

Astronarianism • Comparison • Criticism • Culture (Architecture • Art • Figures • Literature • Music • Ornamentation • Philosophy • Rendition • Society) • Spacism

Astronism portal • Overview

Additional information

This article was written by a working staff member with editorial powers within the Astronist Institution. The accuracy, validity and integrity of the contents of this article is supervised by working members of the Journal of Astronic History which is the academic journal appointed responsibilities of scholarship for the discipline of study to which the subject of this article is associated.

To learn more about the Journal of Astronic History, click here.

Learn more about copyright here.