About this Course

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Archaeoastronomy is the “science of stars and stones”.  It is an interdisciplinary science in between architecture, archaeology, and astronomy. It studies the relationships between the ancient monuments and the sky, in order to gain a better understanding of the ideas of the architects of the past and of their religious and symbolic world. The course provides the first complete, easy introduction to this fascinating discipline.
During the course, many spectacular ancient sites of archaeology – such as Stonehenge in England, Giza and Karnak in Egypt, Chichen Itzá in the Yucatan, Macchu Picchu in Peru and the Pantheon in Rome – will be visited and the fascinating events occurring there in special days of the year (such as solstices, equinoxes, or the day of the foundation of Rome) will be shown and explained. The course also provides the necessary background on Astronomy with the naked eye and a general introduction to the role of Astronomy in religion and in the management of power among ancient cultures.

Learner Career Outcomes

23%

got a tangible career benefit from this course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 7 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.59/5 (248 Ratings)

Giulio Magli

Learner Career Outcomes

23%

got a tangible career benefit from this course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 7 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(4,972 ratings)

Week

1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Week 1

In this week we shall learn the basic tools which are needed for studying Archaeoastronomy. Essentially, this means learning Astronomy with the naked eye, since the ancients did not have telescopes, and becoming acquainted with a simple instrument - the magnetic compass - and amazing softwares: virtual globes and digital planetariums.

1 hour to complete

5 videos (Total 25 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week

2

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Week 2

The core of the course: understanding how astronomy, religion, and the management of power were connected in ancient cultures, and the way in which these connections are reflected in architecture and landscape since the Neolithic. At the end of the week we shall thus visit the places where Archaeoastronomy was born: Stonehenge and Newgrange.

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 24 min)

Week

3

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Week 3

An archaeoastronomical tour in a wonderful land: Egypt of the Pharaohs. We shall visit Khufu's (Cheops) Great Pyramid and assist to the spectacular hierophany which occurs every year at Giza at the summer solstice. Then, we shall move to the huge temple of Karnak at the winter solstice, to finally encounter the "heretic" king Akhenaten and the astronomy-related project of his new capital.

1 hour to complete

5 videos (Total 30 min)

Week

4

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Week 4

An introduction to pre-Columbian Archaeoastronomy, with key topics such as the Maya Calendar, the role of astronomy in Maya architecture, and the sacred space of the Incas at Cusco and Macchu Picchu.

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 28 min)

Week

5

Week 5

24 minutes to complete

Week 5

An archaeo-astronomical visit to fascinating places of ancient Asia: the Xian area, with the Terracotta Warriors and the pyramids of the Chinese Emperors of the Han Dynasty, and Angkor (Cambodia) with Angkor Wat and the other state-temples of the Khmer Kings.

24 minutes to complete

4 videos (Total 24 min)

Week

6

Week 6

1 hour to complete

Week 6

A fascinating travel in Greek and Roman Italy, in search of astronomy in the project of some of the masterpieces of the classical age, from the Greek temples of Sicily to the Pantheon in Rome.

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 19 min)

Week

7

Week 7

3 hours to complete

Astronomy insights

Archaeoastronomy is not only "speaking about the Sun and the other stars". Interest in the cumbersome, apparent motion of the Moon and in the alternating behaviour of Venus as morning star/evening star is also present in ancient architecture, for instance in the Americas. This section provides the tools needed to investigate in such cases, as well as insights on the physical effects affecting measures in Archaeoastronomy.

3 hours to complete

1 video (Total 6 min), 18 readings, 1 quiz

1 video

Conclusions and perspectives5m

18 readings

Lunar phases10m

The eclipses10m

The change in the rising and setting points of the Moon10m

The Moon in Archaeoastronomy10m

Bibliography10m

The planets visible with the naked eye10m

The Motion of Venus10m

Venus in Archaeoastronomy10m

Bibliography10m

The Earth's atmosphere10m

Extincion and Thom's law10m

Refraction and parallax10m

Visual alignments10m

The horizon formula10m

Graphical tools10m

Handling archaeoastronomical data10m

The use of Probability in Archaeoastronomy10m

Bibliography10m

1 practice exercise

Astronomy insight15m

Reviews

4.6

331 reviews

5 stars
65.12%
4 stars
27.14%
3 stars
6.22%
2 stars
1.13%
1 star
0.37%

TOP REVIEWS FROM ARCHAEOASTRONOMY

by JMJun 3, 2017

I volunteer at a public observatory in the UK and wanted some extra material for our guests. I thought Archeoastronomy would be an inspiring and insightful topic to add to the history of astronomy.

by IIMar 2, 2019

Amazingly made MOOC. Perhaps it feels a bit short in comparison to some of the others, but the material is well presented and the suggested readings give plenty of opportunity for further learning.

by VKFeb 11, 2021

Fascinating topic - great videos but I had read the notes as well because I was having difficulty understanding Prof. Magli's accent. Course covered many different parts of the world. Thank you.

by BHJun 13, 2017

Helpful in achieving a good basic understanding of the technical aspects of astronomy and as a good general introduction to the study of archaeoastronomy. Clearly presented and well illustrated.

View all reviews

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Archaeoastronomy