Archaeologia Baltica

Gender terms have been used to interpret some aspects of the archaeology of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments. Frequently male and female inhumations are aligned cardinally and standing stones may be ‘male’ pillar and ‘female’ lozenges. However, the astronomical alignments at monuments are frequently on lunar standstills and solstices which bisect the cardinal alignments. The anthropology of gender suggests that the concept of a ‘gender of power’ is useful in explaining how ritual power is realised through the scrambling of sexual identities. Proficiency in aligning monuments on lunar-solar cycles may well have been a device to appropriate ritual power.

It is widely accepted that the traditional culture of Aboriginal Australians has a significant astronomical component, but it is unclear whether this component extended beyond ceremonial songs and stories. Here I summarise a growing body of evidence that there was a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the sky, that this knowledge was used for practical purposes such as constructing calendars, and there may even be evidence for careful records and measurements.

My paper focuses on diverse misinterpretations in archaeoastronomy grouped into three main topics: 1. Archaeoastronomy, modernity, and ethnic and national identities; 2. ‘Alternative’ and ‘fringe’ archaeoastronomies; 3. Neo-shamanic, neo-pagan, and New Age perspectives and the reinvention of an astronomical tradition. They all are briefly described in order to remind us we should be increasingly aware of our own prejudices and of the styles of analysis we may be imposing on the celestial lore of other peoples.

They were here as recently as 150 years ago. They spoke about the main players in their celestial domain and pointed them out in the night sky. Today they are gone and the reconstruction of their cosmology has required the breadth of the nineteenth century natural philosopher, drawing on zoology, botany, and linguistics, ethnography, geography and anthropology, as well as patient, long-term naked eye observation. It has been an exciting and stimulating task to gradually unfold these stories of the Australian Aboriginal clan who were regarded by neighbouring clans as the best astronomers in the region.

Since its origins, archaeoastronomy has been influenced by nationalist traditions in archaeology. This paper addresses the consequences of these political influences, considering several important questions: To what extent is this quest for past astronomies influenced by nationalist political agendas? How should those of us studying past astronomies respond to these external pressures? To what extent is comparatively recent ethnographic and folkloric evidence suitable for the recovery of past astronomies? The author considers that awareness of these influences and limitations is essential for any scholarly attempt to recover past astronomies.

In the past three decades cosmic events such as supernovae and the impact of large meteorites have undergone a remarkable renaissance in being considered as a trigger of radical change, not only on geological timescales but also among prehistoric cultures. In such theories, archaeological horizons indicative of destruction events are combined with evidence from dendrochronology, ice-core analysis, mythical traditions etc. and are put forward as evidence for cultural disasters caused by cosmic events. This paper critically scrutinizes the underlying concepts of “cosmic catastrophe” and “cultural disaster” as well as the methods that are meant to corroborate them. Special emphasis is placed upon the limitations that show up in analyzing myth and folklore.