Cultural Astronomy / Archaeoastronomy / Ethnoastronomy References

While some of the books, articles and web sites presented here have to do with archaeoastronomy, my main interest in compiling this list is with cultural astronomy - the impact of the cosmos on the culture (religions, traditions, folklore, belief systems, development, art forms, etc.) of various peoples rather than the practical problems of how they might have measured positions per se. Submissions/corrections/suggestions are welcome.

History:
1998 Dec 19 - added links to culture and folklore sites
1998 Jul 23 - added McDonald, Edwards, Simon and Stott references

Books

Books - General



 Beyond the Blue Horizon (myths and legends of the Sun, Moon, stars and planets)
    by E.C. Krupp
    Harper Collins Publishers 1991			ISBN 0-06-015653-8

 The Sky - Mystery, Magic and Myth
    by Jean-Pierre Verdet
    Harry N. Abrams, Publishers				ISBN 0-8109-2873-6

 The Orion Book of the Sky
    by Jean-Claude Pecker
    Orion Press, New York 1960

 Conversation with the Planets (how science and myth invented the cosmos)
    by Anthony Aveni
    Times Books 1992					ISBN 0-8129-1975-0

Books - Constellations



 Tales of the Constellations  (the myths and legends of the night sky)
    by Marianne McDonald
    Michael Friedman Publishing 1996                    ISBN 0-8317-7277-8
    120 pages

 Celestial Charts  (antique maps of the heavens)
    by Carole Stott
    Smithmark Publishing 1995                           ISBN 0-8317-1322-4
    128 pages, color depictions (unfortunately spread across 2 pages)

 Star Walk 
    edited by Seymour Simon
    Morrow Junior Books 1995                            ISBN 0-688-11887-9
    30 pages, poems and quotes, photographs
 
 The New Patterns in the Sky (myths and legends of the stars)
    by Julius D.W. Staal
    McDonald and Woodward Publishing 1988		ISBN 0-939923-04-1 (pbk)

 Star Names - Their Lore and Meaning
    by R.H. Allen
    Dover 1963

 The Stars are Silver Reindeer
    by Natalia Belting
    Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1966
    poems and drawings

Books - Solar System



 Sun Stories 
         (tales from around the world to illuminate the days and nights of our lives)
    by Carolyn Edwards
    Harper Collins 1995                                 ISBN 0-06-250276-X
    204 pages

 Eclipse of the Sun (an investigation into Sun and Moon myths)
    by Janet McCrickard 
    Gothic Image Publications 1990 			ISBN 0-906362-13-X

 The Orion Book of the Sun 
    by Etienne Lalau
    Orion Press, New York 1960

 Moonscapes (a celebration of lunar astronomy, magic, legends and lore)
    by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
    Prentice Hall Press 1991    			ISBN 0-13-541681-7

Books - North American Native Peoples



 Earth & Sky (Visions of the Cosmos in Native American Folklore)
    edited by Ray A. Williamson and Claire R. Farrer
    University of New Mexico Press 1992                 ISBN 0-8263-1553-4 (ppk 1994)
    - 17 articles relating astronomy to interpretation and ritual useage in North America
  
 Earth Is My Mother, Sky Is My Father (Space, Time and Astronomy in Navajo Sandpainting)
    by Trudy Griffin-Pierce
    University of New Mexico Press 1992			ISBN 0-8263-1389-2

 Living the Sky (the cosmos of the American Indian)
    by Ray A. Williamson
    University of Oklahoma Press 1984			ISBN 0-8061-2034-7

 Living Life's Circle (Mescalero Apache cosmovision)
    by Claire R. Farrer
    University of New Mexico Press 1991			ISBN 0-8263-1311-6

 Stars of the First People (Native American Star Myths and Constellations)
    by Dorcas S. Miller
    Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder CO 1997          ISBN 0-87108-858-4

 When stars came down to earth : cosmology of the Skidi Pawnee Indians of N.A.  
    by Von Del Chamberlain.
    Ballena Press (College Park, Md.)
      Center for Archaeoastronomy, University of Maryland, 1982


Books - Central and South American Native Peoples



 The Phoenix of the Western World (Quetzalcoatl and the sky religion)
    by Burr Cartwright Brundage
    University of Oklahoma Press 1982			ISBN 0-8061-1773-7

 Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes
    by Brian S. Bauer and David S.P. Dearborn
    University of Texas Press 1995			ISBN 0-292-77578-4 (pbk) 

 At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky (an Andean cosmology)
    by Gary Urton
    University of Texas Press 1981			ISBN 0-292-70404-6

Books - Other Cultures



 Star Trek to Hawa-i'i
    by Clyde Hostetter
    Diamond Press, San Luis Obispo, CA 1991
    Clyde tells a fascinating story as he traces the astronomical significance of
    markings incised on an ancient middle eastern chalice purchased in Syria through 
    the Batak culture in Sumatra and eventually to the culture of the early Hawaiians.

Books - Archaeoastronomy



 Prehistoric Astronomy of the Southwest
    by J. McKim Malville and Claudia Putnam
    Johnson Books (Boulder, Colorado) 1989		ISBN 1-55566-041-X

 How the Shaman Stole the Moon (In search of ancient prophet-scientists ....)
    by William H. Calvin
    Bantam 1991						ISBN 0-553-07740-6

 Archaeoastronomy (skywatching in the Native American Southwest)
    by Ron McCoy
    Museum of Northern Arizona 1992
    Plateau - magazine of the Museum of Northern Arizona (vol 63 no 2 - special issue)
    ISSN 0032-1346
    

Magazine and Book Articles


 The Promise of Kohoutek 
    Arizona Highways Magazine Dec 1974, pg 44
    (includes reproduction of oil painting by Manuel Lepe of comet at Christmas)

 Sun and Solar Energy Special Issue 
    Arizona Highways Magazine Aug 1975
    (includes article on Sun symbols through the ages)

 Probing the Mystery of the Medicine Wheels
    by John A. Eddy
    National Geographic Jan. 1977 vol 151 no 1 pg 140

Some Web Sites

Aboriginal (Native American) Star Knowledge: Menu
NATIVE-L (April 1994): Re: Native American Star Lore -- References?
Astronomy in Japan (lots of Japanese Star Lore)
Culture, Astronomy and Cosmology (a number of links)
Out of This World Exhibition (Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas)
Raymond E. White's pages on The Conferences over the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena (art)

About the Center for Archaeoastronomy

Miscellaneous


Astronomy and Arthropods

Ron Lyons CASS, UCSD 0424, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla CA 92093-0424

Cultural Entomology (Insects) anyone?

Back to the CASS Home Page