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Ancient astronomy

            "The influences of astronomy on ancient cultures".
            
             During ancient times South America was made up of 4 distinct tribal groups, those being The Mayan's.
             The Inca's.
             The Aztec's and .
             The Olmec's.
             Between them some of the most amazing astronomical discoveries were made. Time was kept (similar to ours) through use of astronomical measurements, such as earth's orbit of the sun and earth's rotation on the north south axis. Structures have been built that represent earth's alignment with various stars and planets in our galaxy. These cultures maintained accurate measurements of many aspects of our universe from star placement to time.
             The Mayans.
             The Maya Calendar.
             The Mayans discovered ways to measure time through the universe in 500 BC (approx). Days were counted in groups of 1, 20 and 360. The first 2 were chosen for obvious reasons (20 because it is the amount of fingers and toes a person has), 360 they used because it is the approximation of a lunar year (365.2425). The Mayan Calendar was counted in 13 groups (13 x 20 = 260), this is the approximate length of 9 lunar synodical months. A "Haab" which featured later in Mayan existence was a measurement of 365 days, an even closer approximation of a lunar year. Eventually a Mayan calendar was formed which took advantage of these discoveries. A "week" was a measure of 20 days, then a year was a measure of 18 of these weeks and a special week made of 5 days and called "Wayeb". This came to a grand total of 365 days. .
             Venus.
             Venus was the astronomical object of greatest interest for the Mayans. They thought it was more important than the Sun. They watched it carefully as it moved through its stations--it takes 584 days for Venus and the Earth to line up in their previous position as compared to the Sun. It takes about 2922 days for the Earth, Venus, the Sun, and the stars to agree. .
             During the 584 day period Venus will start by disappearing from Earth for 8 days (approx), this is called inferior conjunction.


Essays Related to Ancient astronomy

1. Keys of Renaissance Astronomy

... achieved during the Renaissance but not before or after the Renaissance? In brief, ancient Greek astronomy sources, outstanding translators and helpful mathematicians were three key factors that promote the development of astronomy during the Renaissance. Ancient Greek astronomy sources are one of the key factors that promoted the development of astronomy. During the Renaissance, the cultural rebirth was based on the revival of ... maybe mathematics should be the most important factor and translators would seem not to be that important. But in fact, ancient Greek astronomy sources, outs...

  • Word Count: 1699
  • Approx Pages: 7
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2. Astrology Vs Astronomy

... to keep track of time. Astrology also had its birth in ancient times. People began to study the universe much more intensely as time progressed. In doing so people began to claim that the movement and position of the planets, predicted events on earth, and events in peoples lives. Therefore, although astronomy and astrology are very different now, they both began in ... ancient times. Another similarity that exists between astrology and astronomy is that they both involve the study of the universe. However, both fields of study are very different by definition. Astrology ... various ev...

  • Word Count: 486
  • Approx Pages: 2
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3. Astronomy vs. Astrology

... . My interest in stars, planets and space, however, has always been done more to learn something about our solar system, galaxy, and universe. Astronomy's roots were in Astrology but through the centuries, there has been a drastic split between the two. Astrology started back in the cave man days when ... He was an astronomer because he needed the information for his Astrology. In the ancient world if you wanted to be an Astrologer, the first thing you had to learn was astronomy. And astronomer was but and Astrologer's apprentice." Astronomy vs. Astrology 3 (Astrology Parlor - The histor...

  • Word Count: 796
  • Approx Pages: 3
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4. Astronomy Essay

Astronomy Essay In the times of ancient Egypt and Greece, the early astronomers didn't have binoculars or telescopes. Yet the astronomers those days gathered the information and pieced together the ... only had the stars, Stars that told stories about the "Great Bear-, "Orion The Hunter- or "Taurus The Bull-. The constellations were also an important tool the ancient people used like a calendar. They noticed that there were 12 major "constellations- that went throughout the sky and then repeated themselves. They noticed that it took approximately ... eyesight problems he decided to focus his ...

  • Word Count: 1642
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5. Three Great Philosophers of Ancient Greece

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  • Word Count: 1162
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Contributions of Ancient Greece and Rome

... intellectual contribution was extremely influential. They are known for their philosophers, astronomers, and mathematicians. They contributed many things especially to the scientific world, with everything from medicine to astronomy. In the field of medicine, the Greeks were the ones that started meddling with medicine in order to understand and treat diseases. In the field of math, the big ... for daily usage as well. They also began decorating their coins. They stamped geometric designs of gods, heroes, and other portraits on the gold, silver, or bronze coins. Ancient Greeks strived fo...

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7. Ancient Greek Science

... , Democritus, and Pythagoras, among many others, used the scientific method to explain the physical world around them. The use of these sciences was employed in the fields of mathematics, medicine, astronomy and biology in order to improve aspects of Greek life. It also helped to dominate the Mediterranean Sea region, which would be a forerunner to the Roman Empire that borrowed heavily ... rather than turning to religion. Hippocrates would observe patients and look for natural causes to explain their sickness (Grant). In addition to medicine, the Greeks had many mathematical advancement...

  • Word Count: 1375
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8. Ancient Egypt: The Ultimate Paper

... mighty organization began to grow. They found leaders among themselves, who directed the work that needed to be done, and thus a form of government developed. Ancient Egyptian government was led by a king, or pharaoh and some of the most noteworthy were: Narmer, Ahmose, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaton, Ramses II, ... to over 7000 years ago. In the early Egyptian times, medicine was practiced most often by priests, not doctors or physicians. In ancient Egyptian times there were special doctors just for the treatment of eye problems. Doctors who specialized in the eyes were regarded ext...

  • Word Count: 2745
  • Approx Pages: 11
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9. An Overview of Ancient Egypt

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  • Word Count: 2162
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