ANCIENT ASTRONOMY

Who were the ancient astronomers? It could be argued that humans looked up at the sky in wonder shortly after they became sentient. A long, long time ago. But some civilizations spent more effort and energy on astronomy than others. Documented astronomy of the ancient past comes to us from Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica, although the records of the natives in the new world were destroyed by self-righteous invaders and are scarce. Of course the ancient Greeks left some records of their astronomical activities. These and other cultures often left the testimony of their knowledge etched in stone. The giant pyramids testify to the astronomical abilities of the ancient Egyptians as sure as European stone circles and monuments testify that those peoples understood the Pythagorean theory long before the Greek mathematician. In Armenia, the mute rocks investigated by the radio astronomer Paris Herouni illustrate the secret, hidden clues to how the ancients studied the sky.