Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy So Far [and Comments and Reply] Elizabeth Chesley Baity; Anthony F. Aveni; Rainer Berger; David A. Bretternitz; Geoffrey A. Clark; James W. Dow; P. -R. Giot; David H. Kelley; Leo S. Klejn; H. H. E. Loops; Rolf Muller; Richard Pittioni; Emilie Pleslova-Stikova; Zenon S. Pohorecky; Jonathan E. Reyman; S. B. Roy; Charles H. Smiley; Dean R. Snow; James L. Swauger; P. M. Vermeersch Current Anthropology, Vol. 14, No. 4. (Oct., 1973), pp. 389-449. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0011-3204%28197310%2914%3A4%3C389%3AAAESF%5B%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R Current Anthropology is currently published by The University of Chicago Press. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. 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For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org Thu Dec 6 19:45:29 2007 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Vol. 14, NO. 4, October 1973 Copyright 1973 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy SOFar1 by Elizabeth Chesley Baity A NEW SUBDISCIPLINE,a direct interaction between cently arisen out of interest in the apparent use of astronomy, engineering, and archaeology, has re- astronomical techniques in the construction of mega- lithic and other monumental structures of ancient times. Hawkins (1963)has proposed the name "astro- archaeology" for this subdiscipline. "Megalithic as- ELIZABETHCHESLEY BAITY comes to anthropology (protohistory) tronomy" is the term used by Thom (1967, 1971), from a career in independent research and writing. She was educated at the Texas University for Women, Denton, and who has presented meticulous evidence of megalithic at the University of North Carolina (M.A., anthropology, 1962; Ph.D., anthropology, 1968). She has been a special student in anthropology and prehistory at the universities of Geneva 'In view of the growing interest in archaeoastronomy and and Tehran and at the School of Oriental and African Studies ethnoastronomy and the absence of indexed bibliographical data of the University of London and has done anthropological on the two, it seemed that a synthesizing review of the literature research in Spain, Turkey, Greece, Iran, India, and Bulgaria. would be worth attempting: it was not initially evident that the When living in Geneva (where Dr. H. G. Baity was a Director subject would demand global coverage and a time depth of some in the World Health Organization), she covered the first Asiatic 30,000 years. The task is beyond the competence of one reviewer; Conference and later political conferences as a special corre- for aid, I thank the following scholars, absolving them from spondent for the Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News, subsequently responsibility for errors or misunderstandings: H. Alimen, R. J. reporting on the work of various specialized agencies of the C. Atkinson, Anthony Arkell, H.-G. Bandi, Jose Miguel de Baran- United Nations visited in the Middle East, South Asia, and diaran, R. Berger, Verla Birrell, L. Cabot Briggs, Donald Brock- Africa. As the director of writing workshops for nationals in ington, Pedro Bosch Gimpera, Peter Boev, Aubrey Bur!, Cottie the subcontinent and Africa (sponsored by the Committee for Burland, Anthony Christie, George Cowgill, J. Desmond Clark, World Literacy and Christian Literature, now Intermedia), she Krishna Deva, James Dow, Vladimir Dmitriev, Wolfram Eberhard, produced six readers for use in tribal areas of West Pakistan Robert Ehrich, Clifford Evans, Brian Fagan, Thomas Stuart Fer- (1954), five for use in tribal areas of the South Sudan (1955), guson, P. R. Giot, Rojer Grosjean, Wayland B. Hand, Hubert and twenty-one for translation into Swahili and the vernacular Harber, David Hart, Horst Hartung, Gerald S. Hawkins, Vance languages of East Africa (during the workshop in Kinampanda, Haynes, Robert Heizer, Hugh Hencken, Josef Henninger, G. Tanzania, in 1956). She has surveyed population literature Evelyn Hutchinson, David Kelley, Ivan King, Paul Kirchhoff, Leo in East and South Asia and Oceania (1969). S. Klejn, Richard Knapp, K. K. Leuba, Paul Levy, Henri Lhote, Among her publications are two prize-winning books for Alan Lomax, Euan MacKle, Alexander Marshack, Robert L. young people, Americans Before Columbus (New York: Viking Merritt, Hugh Moran, Rolf Miiller, C. A. Newham, Raul Noriega, Press, 1951) and America Before Man (revised edition, New Nancy Kelley Owen, Asko Parpola, Stuart Piggott, Leon Po- York: Viking Press, 1964). In preparation are a younger- merance, Colin Renfrew, Jonathan E. Reyman, Leonid Rezepkin, readers' book on the protohistory of the Black Sea area and A. E. Roy, D. Robertson, the late Keith Seeley, Charles H. Smiley, reports on fire, bull, and astra rituals and iconography of the Marc Sauter, D. J. Schove, Ramon P. C. Schulz, J. B. Segal, Archer Middle East, Western Europe, and Asia. As a consultant to Taylor, Alexander Thom, B. L. van der Waerden, and Gene the Morehead Planetarium, Mrs. Baity assisted with a show Weltfish. I was not able to locate every study cited, but for the on British megalithic astronomy (March-April 1972). She sake of future researchers have listed the titles in the appropriate teaches in the African Studies Program of the University of context. North Carolina (Division of Political Science) and continues I thank my fellow workers at Soria, Sr. and Sra. Teogenes Ortego to be interested in population literature work. y Frias and Jose Antonio P. Rioja; elsewhere in Spain, I was Coming from a family with strong astronomical interests helped by ethnographers Julio Caro Baroja, Luis Cortes, and Jose extending through three generations (son William is with an Tudelo, linguist Antonio Tovar, and archaeologists Antonio Arri- astrophysics team), Mrs. Balty first grappled with the precession bas, Luis Pericot Garcia, and A. Panyello. At Greek fire rituals of the equinoxes while studying with her brothers, Hervey I enjoyed the company of ethnographers Georges and Anastassios and Ted Chesley, at the latter's telescope and solar-system model Megas, M. Romaios, and Georges Spyridakis, and in Bulgaria, on a Texas hilltop. Star-studying and museum research in South that of Peter Boev. I thank Rossitza Anghelova for her book on America, Asia, and Africa deepened the interest, leading to the Bulgarian fire dance. In Turkey on various occasions I received a dissertation study in which Ibero-Saharan astra iconography hospitali~at their excavations and institutions from Hamit Ko~ay, supplied clues to the solution of the distribution of protohistorlc Tahsin Oz E, and Raci Temizer, and in Iran was taught by fire rituals and their survivals studied ethnographically in Spain, ~ohametXghadam and helped by David Stronach, O. R. Gurney, India, and Oceania. and Maurizio Tosi. Among the specialists on Indian archaeology The present paper, submitted in final form 14 rr 72, was to whom I am indebted for interviews in London and India are sent for comment to 50 scholars, of whom the following Sir Mortimer Wheeler, F. R. Allchin, Swami Ranganathananda, responded: Anthony F. Aveni, Rainer Berger, David A. Breter- S. Chaudhuri, and L. P. Vidyarthi and his anthropology staff nitz, Geoffrey A. Clark, James U'. Dow, P.-R. Giot, Leo S. at Ranchi University, through whose efforts I attended a Sorai Klejn, H. H. E. Loofs, Rolf Miiller, Richard Pittioni, Emilie fire walk. Reference librarians giving invaluable assistance include Pleslov&Stikova, Zenon S. Pohorecky, Jonathan E. Reyman, Louise McG. Hall and her assistants at the Library of the University S. B. Roy, Charles H. Smiley, Dean R. Snow, James L. Swauger, of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Margaret Currier of the Peabody and P. M. Vermeersch. Their comments are printed below Museum at Harvard, and A. H. Weisencraft of the University and ale followed by a reply from the author. of London. Vol. 14 . No. 4 . October 1973 man's skills in astronomy, engineering, and mathe- astronomical, and linguistic data which cannot be matics. MacKie (1968, 1971a,b), who is testing Thom's summarized here. astronomical theories by traditional archaeological methods, prefers "archaeoastronomy." As a broader term, this appears more widely useful than the others ARCHAEOASTRONOMICAL STUDIES and will be adopted here. "Ethnoastronomy" is the accepted name for a closely allied research field which merges astronomy, textual scholarship, ethnology, and the interpretation of ancient iconography for The archaeological knowledge with regard to Stone- the purpose of reconstructing lifeways, astronomical henge in Wiltshire and other megalithic structures techniques, and rituals. By whatever name, the new in the British Isles and France had by 1960 become interdisciplinary studies are potentially of great sig- sufficiently detailed to encourage specialists from nificance for the insights they afford into the mental other disciplines to attempt to assess the function attainments of certain prehistoric, protohistoric, and these structures might have served for their builders early historic societies in Eurasia.