Orientations Of Linear Stone Arrangements in New South Wales

Hamacher, Duane W.; Fuller, Robert S.; Norris, R. P.

doi:10.1080/03122417.2012.11681949

Cited by 7 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Partial eclipses are much more common, but are not normally noticed unless observers have been pre-warned (Hamacher & Norris 2012). It is therefore surprising that explanations of solar eclipses are very common in Aboriginal mythology.…”

Section: Solar Eclipsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lunar month is roughly the same length as the menstrual cycle, and many cultures associate the Moon with fertility (Fredrick 2008;Hamacher & Norris 2012;Johnson 1998). In some, young women were told not to look at the Moon to avoid becoming pregnant (Bates & Wilson 1972;Haynes 1997), and Wardaman people believe that looking at the Moon encourages promiscuity in both sexes ).…”

Section: The Moonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some other groups believed that a solar eclipse was caused by the Sun being covered by something, but not necessarily the Moon (Hamacher & Norris 2012;Morgan 1852), and a few attributed it to a completely different cause, such as the Pitjantjatjara belief that bad spirits made the Sun dirty (Rose 1957) and the Wardaman belief that an evil spirit swallowed the Sun (Harney & Elkin 1968). Morrill (1864) reported that the Mt.…”

Section: Solar Eclipsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, I have accommodated this ambiguity by re-binning the data used by Hamacher et al (2012) into 15 • bins, which is larger than the ∼12 • magnetic declination, thus minimising the effect of the ambiguity. The results are shown in Figure 19.…”

Section: Linear Stone Arrangements In New South Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Attenbrow 2002;Bowdler 1983;McBryde 1974). Hamacher et al (2012) have compiled a sample of 32 of these stone arrangements, selected to have an unambiguous direction, and some of which are shown in Figure 18. They concluded that the stone rows were unambiguously aligned preferentially north-south or east-west, but, curiously, the northsouth peak seemed closer to magnetic north than to true north.…”

Section: Linear Stone Arrangements In New South Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Dawes Review 5: Australian Aboriginal Astronomy and Navigation

Norris

2016

Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The traditional cultures of Aboriginal Australians include a significant astronomical component, perpetuated through oral tradition, ceremony, and art. This astronomical knowledge includes a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the sky, which was used for practical purposes such as constructing calendars and for navigation. There is also evidence that traditional Aboriginal Australians made careful records and measurements of cyclical phenomena, recorded unexpected phenomena such as eclipses and meteorite impacts, and could determine the cardinal points to an accuracy of a few degrees. Putative explanations of celestial phenomena appear throughout the oral record, suggesting traditional Aboriginal Australians sought to understand the natural world around them, in the same way as modern scientists, but within their own cultural context. There is also a growing body of evidence for sophisticated navigational skills, including the use of astronomically based songlines. Songlines are effectively oral maps of the landscape, and are an efficient way of transmitting oral navigational skills in cultures that do not have a written language. The study of Aboriginal astronomy has had an impact extending beyond mere academic curiosity, facilitating cross-cultural understanding, demonstrating the intimate links between science and culture, and helping students to engage with science.Keywords: history and philosophy of astronomy PrefaceThe Dawes Reviews are substantial reviews of topical areas in astronomy, published by authors of international standing at the invitation of the PASA Editorial Board. The reviews recognise William Dawes (1762-1836), second lieutenant in the Royal Marines and the astronomer on the First Fleet. Dawes was not only an accomplished astronomer, but spoke five languages, had a keen interest in botany, mineralogy, engineering, cartography, and music, compiled the first Aboriginal-English dictionary, and was an outspoken opponent of slavery. Warning to Aboriginal ReadersThis paper may contain names and images of people who are deceased.

show abstract

Section: Solar Eclipsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Moonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Solar Eclipsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Linear Stone Arrangements In New South Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Linear Stone Arrangements In New South Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations