On the Arab System of Nautical Orientation

Tolmacheva, Marina

doi:10.1163/157005880x00051

Cited by 35 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…This necessitates learning to identify individual stars by their configuration. A combination of stars rising and setting at different points north and south of the celestial equator is thought to have made up the 'sidereal compass' of Arab sailors in the Indian Ocean, described as early as the tenth century [9] and used up to the present day in some islands of the South Pacific [10].…”

Section: Strategies For Stellar Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the absence of such a compass, orientation behaviour can also indicate other strategies. If the study animal compensates for latitudinal but not longitudinal displacements, then it may use the elevation of the centre of celestial rotation [9] or a specific line of declination [10] to judge latitude. If the study animal does not compensate for displacement, but remains oriented in the same direction as prior to displacement, it may use the centre of celestial rotation's azimuth [14] or another consistent feature of the sky's intensity profile [33,34] as a reference without compensating for the elevations of these features.…”

Section: (B) Geographical Displacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Star patterns can also be used to obtain a 'stellar map' that indicates the observer's location on the globe. Experienced sailors can determine their latitude by observing which line of declination is closest to the zenith [10] or measuring the distance between the centre of celestial rotation and the horizon [9]. Assessing longitude from celestial cues is more challenging because the Earth's daily rotation changes the stars' positions in the same way as a change in longitude.…”

Section: Strategies For Stellar Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How animals follow the stars

Foster

Smolka

Nilsson³

et al. 2018

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Throughout history, the stars have provided humans with ever more information about our world, enabling increasingly accurate systems of navigation in addition to fuelling some of the greatest scientific controversies. What information animals have evolved to extract from a starry sky and how they do so, is a topic of study that combines the practical and theoretical challenges faced by both astronomers and field biologists. While a number of animal species have been demonstrated to use the stars as a source of directional information, the strategies that these animals use to convert this complex and variable pattern of dim-light points into a reliable 'stellar orientation' cue have been more difficult to ascertain. In this review, we assess the stars as a visual stimulus that conveys directional information, and compare the bodies of evidence available for the different stellar orientation strategies proposed to date. In this context, we also introduce new technologies that may aid in the study of stellar orientation, and suggest how field experiments may be used to characterize the mechanisms underlying stellar orientation.

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Section: Strategies For Stellar Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Geographical Displacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Strategies For Stellar Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How animals follow the stars

Foster

Smolka

Nilsson³

et al. 2018

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…K. N. Chaudhuri () provided a summary of the general parameters of navigational practices in his foundational work on the Indian Ocean, Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean , but primarily relied on the work of Tibbetts and Ferrand for his discussion. Tolmacheva wrote two articles related to the topic, one on the stellar compass rose, () and another on a previously unknown manuscript of Kitab al‐Fawaʾid (). Alfred Clark () explored the astronomical accuracy of a variety of star‐altitude measurements described in Tibbetts' translation from a mathematical perspective.…”

Section: The Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Indian Ocean navigation in Islamic sources 850–1560 CE

Staples

2018

History Compass

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Oceanic histories have become increasingly popular in the last few decades, as maritime‐based approaches to historical inquiry, often referred to as a “new thalassology,” gain prominence. Indian Ocean studies in particular have flourished as a result of this trend. However, the study of Indian Ocean navigation has not received the same level of academic attention. This paper briefly reviews the historical and historiographical development of Indian Ocean navigation and argues that although significant work—based largely on Arabic manuscripts sources—was conducted in the twentieth century, the field has become somewhat stagnant. It concludes with recommendations for future research that could further enhance our understanding of Indian Ocean navigation and enrich the broader field of Indian Ocean studies.

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Navigation in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea

Tolmacheva¹

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures

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On the Arab System of Nautical Orientation

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

How animals follow the stars

How animals follow the stars

Indian Ocean navigation in Islamic sources 850–1560 CE

Navigation in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea

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