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The Astronomy of the Australian Aborigines
Citation
Haynes, RD, The Astronomy of the Australian Aborigines, The Astronomy Quarterly, 7 pp. 193-217. ISSN 0364-9229 (1990) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 1990 Pergamon Press plc
DOI: doi:10.1016/0364-9229(90)90002-I
Abstract
In histories of astronomy, it is customary to contrast the advances
of modern, that is post-Renaissance, science with the maze of astrology
which preceded it. With the benefit of hindsight we can now see a
continuing tradition from the earliest records of Babylonia through the
Greek and Roman legends to the alchemical pursuits of the Middle Ages.
This tradition, which relied on the initiation of a few into an essentially
secret knowledge, was disrupted by the rapid rise and success of scientific
method. With the advent of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton,
recognizable modem astronomy begins and the earlier beliefs are relegated
to the realm of myth and fantasy, mere isolated stories divorced from the
culture of which they were part. It is impossible for us to know what our
hunter-gatherer European ancestors thought when they looked up at the
northern stars some 15,000 years ago for we cannot any longer recapture
their world view.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | astonomy, Aboriginal, Australia, history |
Research Division: | Indigenous Studies |
Research Group: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language and history |
Research Field: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Understanding past societies |
Objective Field: | Understanding Australia's past |
UTAS Author: | Haynes, RD (Dr Roslynn Haynes) |
ID Code: | 121725 |
Year Published: | 1990 |
Deposited By: | Office of the School of Humanities |
Deposited On: | 2017-10-12 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-23 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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