Astronomy & World Heritage ebook edited by Clive Ruggles released free
Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 09 August 2010 Page Views: 4298
Other ArchaeologyThe UNESCO World Heritage Committee has endorsed a free to download thematic study on the Heritage Sites of Astronomy and Archaeoastronomy, prepared within the framework of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. It presents an overall vision of astronomical heritage and attempts to identify some of the most outstanding examples that are of significance to everyone.The book, the full title of which is “Heritage Sites of Astronomy and Archaeoastronomy in the context of the World Heritage Convention”, identifies broad issues in the assessment of cultural heritage relating to astronomy and includes examples of historical sites, some already on the World Heritage List or national Tentative Lists.
The study has several objectives. One is to gain a clearer picture of the character and composition of astronomical heritage around the world. Another is to identify just how to define this type of heritage in the context of the World Heritage Convention. The report details the main characteristics we should expect from an astronomical heritage site, and compares this to a representative sample of major heritage sites for astronomy around the world.
Sixteen main topics are identified in the report, which covers human history from the Stone Age to the Space Age.
“Astronomy represents a rich and significant part of humanity’s shared cultural and natural heritage. Recognising this formally means that we can now identify and clarify astronomical value in the context of the World Heritage Convention,” says Clive Ruggles, chair of the IAU’s Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage and co-author of the study.
Anna Sidorenko-Dulom, Chair of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone project Astronomy and World Heritage and coordinator of the thematic initiative Astronomy and World Heritage at UNESCO World Heritage Centre adds: “Recently there has been a lot of interest in reviewing the relationship between the heritage of the sciences, the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities, and the World Heritage Convention. In this context, the new Thematic Study provides the foundation for assisting State Parties to harmonise their Tentative Lists at a thematic level and to prepare nominations, including comparative analyses explaining the importance of nominated properties in their national and international context. This raises the serious possibility of including astronomical sites of outstanding universal value in the World Heritage List.”
The ICOMOS-IAU Thematic Study (ISBN 978-2-918086-01-7) is freely available for download from the website of the IAU’s Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage: http://www.astronomicalheritage.org and from the IYA2009 website.
The parts of most interest to us are:
Chapter 1 Earlier prehistory Michael Rappenglück .............................................................. 13
Case Study 1.1 The Thaïs bone, France .......................................................................16
Case Study 1.2 The decorated plate of the Geißenklösterle, Germany........................19
Case Study 1.3 The Ishango bone, Democratic Republic of the Congo ......................21
Case Study 1.4 The astronomical rock panels in the Lascaux Cave, France ...............24
Chapter 2 Later prehistoric Europe Clive Ruggles................................................................ 28
Case Study 2.1 Stonehenge World Heritage Site, United Kingdom Amanda
Chadburn.............................................................................................36
Case Study 2.2 Seven-stone antas, Portugal and Spain................................................41
Case Study 2.3 The stone circles at Odry, Poland Stanisław Iwaniszewski.................43
Chapter 3 Pre-Columbian America Stanisław Iwaniszewski. ............................................... 46
Case Study 3.1 Boca de Potrerillos, Mexico Stanisław Iwaniszewski and
William Breen Murray .......................................................................54
Case Study 3.2 Caguana, Puerto Rico Angel Rodriguez .............................................57
Case Study 3.3 Chankillo, Peru Ivan Ghezzi...............................................................59
Case Study 3.4 The metallurgical centre of Viña del Cerro, Chile
Ricardo Moyano..................................................................................62
Chapter 4 Indigenous uses of astronomy Jarita Holbrook, Stephen McCluskey and
Clive Ruggles......................................................................................................... 65
Case Study 4.1 Navajo star ceilings, USA Stephen McCluskey and Von Del
Chamberlain........................................................................................71
Case Study 4.2 Atituiti Ruga, Mangareva, French Polynesia Clive Ruggles..............74
Case Study 4.3 Wurdi Youang, Australia Ray Norris.................................................76
Chapter 5 Ancient and medieval Far East Shi Yun-li and Clive Ruggles ............................. 80
Case Study 5.1 Taosi observatory, China Xu Fengxian and He Nu.............................86
Case Study 5.2 Denfeng observatory, China Xu Fengxian ..........................................90
Case Study 5.3 Beijing ancient observatory, China Shi Yun-li ....................................94
Case Study 5.4 Cheomseongdae observatory, Republic of Korea Park Jeong Eun ....96
Chapter 6 India Subhash Kak................................................................................................ 99
Case Study 6.1 The Jantar Mantar at Jaipur, India Michel Cotte..............................108
iv ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Study on Astronomical Heritage
Chapter 7 Mesopotamia and the Middle East John Steele.................................................. 113
Chapter 8 Ancient Egypt Juan Belmonte............................................................................ 117
Case Study 8.1 The tomb of Senenmut at western Thebes, Egypt.............................127
Case Study 8.2 The temple of Amun at Karnak, Egypt .............................................129
Case Study 8.3 The temple of Hathor at Dandara, Egypt ..........................................131
Case Study 8.4 The pyramids of Giza and related buildings, Egypt..........................133
Case Study 8.5 Napata, Sudan, including the temples of Djebel Barkal and the
Nuri necropolis..................................................................................136
Chapter 9 The Classical World Efthymios Nicolaidis, Giulio Magli and Clive Ruggles.... 139
Case Study 9.1 The Pnyx, Athens, Greece Michael Wright ......................................146
Case Study 9.2 The acropolis of Alatri, Italy Giulio Magli .......................................148
Case Study 9.3 The Pantheon, Rome, Italy Guilio Magli ..........................................151
Note: This may sound rather boring but actually it's a fascinating and free PDF ebook to download featuring ancient sites around the world with lots of colour photos
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