ethno- & archaeo- astronomy · 2019. 11. 29. · r. angeloni (uls, chile) ethno...

Ethno- & Archaeo-Astronomyin Northern Chile

Rodolfo Angeloni

Instituto de InvestigaciónMultidisciplinar en Ciencia y Tecnología, Univ. de La Serena Chile

La Serena, October 7-12, 2018

Ricardo Moyano

Instituto InterdisciplinarioTilcara – Filo:UBA, CONICET,

Argentina

R. Angeloni (ULS, Chile) Ethno & Archaeoastronomy in Northern Chile Reunión Binacional SOCHIAS-AAS 2/20

Since the dawn of civilization Astronomy has always played a leading role in the development of science, applied technology and humanities - in all cultures, at all time

In present-day Chile, thanks to the excellent quality of its northern skies and the long-standing presence of the most advanced international observatories in the world, Astronomyhas become the science with the highest impact and international presence in the country.



Nonetheless, this astonishing development in Astrophysics andAstroEngineering has not been accompanied yet by a proportionalacademic interest in those equally fundamental aspects ofthe discipline that usually go under the name of “Cultural Astronomy”.

To the point that, at the time of writing and at the best of our knowledge

in Chile there is no research groups in any faculty (of Natural nor Social Science) performing

Ethno and/or Archaeoastronomical investigations.

"Astronomy is part of the modern cultural tapestry of Chile"



La Astronomía Cultural

también conocida como astronomía en la

cultura, es un área interdisciplinaria que

estudia las concepciones, percepciones y

prácticas referentes a lo celeste de los diversosgrupos humanos, presentes y pasados,

entendidas como productos sociales que

forman parte integrante de cada cultura.

Wikipedia en español

Juan Antonio Belmonte (IAC, España) ha señalado la necesidad de trabajar en equipos que posean no solamente

especialistas de diversas áreas, sino que además cada uno de ellos esté dispuesto a aprender seriamente de las demás.

Cultural Astronomy

is the set of interdisciplinary fields studying

the astronomical systems of current or ancientsocieties and cultures.

Such areas include archaeoastronomy, ethno-

astronomy, historical astronomy, history of

astronomy and history of astrology.

Wikipedia in English



"Ciertamente el punto vulnerable y la fuente de la

riqueza de la astronomía cultural está en la

convergencia de un enorme número de disciplinas

que van desde la antropología y la sociología a la

astronomía y la matemática, pasando por la física,

la arquitectura, la ingeniería, la historia del arte, la

geografía, etc."

Wikipedia en español

Its intrinsic interdisciplinary character

has traditionally made difficult to balance the

social and scientific aspects of Cultural

Astronomy, to an extent that “integrating them

into a coherent argument has always been a long-

term difficulty for the scholars working in the

area” (Iwaniszewski 1991) and has unfortunately

resulted in the coexistence under the same label of

“academic work of high quality at one side but

uncontrolled speculation bordering on lunacy at

the other” (with the words of Clive Ruggles).


Ethno & Archaeo-Astronomyin Northern Chile

https://www.rodolfoangeloni.net/cultural-astronomy.html


Our research project, even beyond its immediate objectives, representsthe first coordinated effort to create in Chile (remarkably in theDepartment of Physics and Astronomy of a public University) a highly-qualified research nucleus of Ethno and Archaeoastronomical studies.


Theoretical Framework 1/2

"Our main objective is to understand and characterize the different conceptualizations and logics that intervened in theconstruction of the (physical, social, and symbolic) space during the profound political and social transformationsoccurred in Northern Chile at the time of the Inca and Early Colonial period.

Specifically, we will be studying the social and cultural practices that were influenced by the observations of the skyamong the Atacama indigenous groups."


Within this theoretical framework, also the sky and the astronomicalphenomena are elements that structure the space - not just as physicalphenomena, but also as a result of the constant projection onto the samelandscape of values, rules and human categories (Leibowicz et al. 2016;Ruggles 2015).


Theoretical Framework 2/2

Space (landscape) is always a socio-cultural product, being created by the objectification of individual human actionsand social practices onto the physical environment (Criado 1991, 1999). Moving from a comprehensive analysis oflandscape, it becomes thus possible to understand the internal relationship among humans, non-humans, and thephysical environment in which they experience their existence (Soja 1971; Lefebvre 1976; Tilley and Bennett 2001;Iwaniszewski 2007, 2009; Cruz 2009, 2012, 2014).



The Andes 1/2

According to this “world-view”, in the Atacama region it is possible to find architectural and social practices with aclearly marked orientation, intimately linked with sacred elements of the local landscape such as mountains, lagoons,ravines, etc (Reinhard 1983; Barthel 1986; Castro and Varela 2004; Sanhueza 2005; Vilches 2005; Magaña 2006;Moyano 2011).

The arrival and settling of Incas in Atacama, around the middleof XV century, brought profound changes in the life style andsocial organization of autochthonous people. The inclusion ofthe Atacama region into the Inca orbit therefore also impliedimportant modifications in the social landscape.



The Andes 2/2

With the Spanish conquest in the XVI century, the “Doctrina de Atacama” was established in Northern Chile (Villegas 2012). Thesystematic effort by the Spaniards to extirpate the idolatries and thus convert and evangelize the indigenous population tothe Catholicism resulted in a an almost complete destruction of all signs of worship (wak’as, wayside shrine, temples, etc.). However,at least during the initial phase of the conquest, new chapels and churches built over pagan constructions show a tendency topreserve the initial cardinal orientation, therefore mantaining the original link with the local landscape - including the sky (Barthel1986; Castro 1991, 1997; Castro and Varela 2004; Hidalgo 2012).



Working Hypothesis

The project is therefore sustained by two main working hypotheses:

1) The spatial organization of pre-Hispanic sites during the Inca period, in Northern Chile as in other parts of theAndes, was determined by functional, economic, political as well as symbolic logics, all intimately connected to theobservation of the sky.

2) In spite of the profound changes caused by the Hispanic conquest and the subsequent inter-ethnic struggleresulting from the disintegration of the Tawantinsuyu, these special logics were preserved and (perhaps unconsciously)adopted into the colonial world, mainly through cultural and social practices linked to the Christian liturgical calendarand to the orientation of Catholic temples.



Methodology

Archaeoastronomical fieldwork• GPS Surveying, remote sensing, photo interpretation and geographic information systems (GIS) for the identification, analysis, and quantification of

sites and visual basins in the region under study (for visibility and inter-visibility relations).• Horizon survey and determination of the cardinal orientation of archaeological and colonial sites (height and azimuth values) with drones, optical

compass, clinometer, and topography equipment (mechanical transit/theodolite), correcting the local magnetic declination with solar astronomicalreference.

Ethnoastronomical campaign• Surveying the oral memory in selected localities in the Atacama area, applying the ethnographic methods: open semi-structured interviews, focus

groups and participant observation in liturgical calendar festivities.

Data reduction and analysis• Astronomical analysis of landscapes and structures. This analysis includes the determination of declination and heliacal rising and/or settings of

specific asterisms at specific calendar dates, taking into account atmospheric refraction and parallax effects (Sprajc 2001; Aveni 2005; Martz et al.2013).

• Comparative examination of sites and geo-symbolic references (pucaras, tambos, shrines, etc.) typical of the Inca and Early Colonial periods.• Multivariate Statistical Analysis (González-García et al. 2014) to relate the values of azimuth and declination with the geographic location and

temporality of the sites under study.• Historiographical exegesis and analysis of historical sources.



Expected Impact & Outreach

• Study, for the first time in a systematic way through a fully dedicated project, the Ethno and Archaeoastronomyworld of Atacama indigenous groups.

• Contribute to the overall development of Chilean Astronomy by introducing new research fields, methodologiesand theoretical frameworks from Cultural Astronomy.

• Contribute to the promotion of cultural and astronomical heritage of Northern Chile, in synergy with local(OPCC, AURA, Carnegie Observatories, ESO) and world-leading (IAU, UNESCO, ICOMOS) actors in the field.

• Support the protection of Chilean skies from light pollution along a (pretty new) social and cultural perspective(i.e., “the sky of our ancestors is our own sky”).

• Promote Astronomy as an ideal holistic discipline in teaching and education (Ethno and Archaeoastronomy,History of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Philosophy of Science).

• Support outreach projects like AstroSerena (especially in the Coquimbo and Atacama Regions) in closecollaborations with universities, amateur observatories and scientific educational centers.


[...] la conciencia del objeto es, para el hombre, la conciencia de sí mismo. Por el objetose conoce al hombre; en aquél se manifiesta su esencia: el objeto es su esenciamanifestada, su verdadero yo objetivo. Y esto, no sólo vale por los objetos espirituales,sino también por los perceptibles.

También los objetos más remotos con respecto al hombre, porque y en cuanto le sonobjetos, son revelaciones de la esencia humana. También la luna, también el sol,también las estrellas le dicen al hombre, conócete a tí mismo.El hecho de que ve aquellos cuerpos y que los ve así como los ve, es un testimonio desu propia esencia.

El animal sólo es representado por el rayo de luz necesario para la vida; el hombre encambio se emociona también por el rayo indiferente de las estrellas más remotas. Sóloel hombre tiene alegrías y efectos puramente intelectuales; sólo el hombre celebrafiestas puramente teóricas para sus ojos.

El ojo que contempla el firmamento, observando aquella luz que no le aprovecha ni leperjudica, que nada tiene de común con la Tierra y sus necesidades, ve en esta luz supropia esencia, su propio origen. El ojo es de una naturaleza celestial. Por eso elhombre se eleva sobre la Tierra sólo con el ojo, por eso la teoría empieza con la miradahacia el cielo. Los primeros filósofos eran astrónomos: el cielo recuerda a los hombressu destino, o sea, que no solamente son creados para obrar, sino también paracontemplar.

Ludwig FeuerbachLa esencia del cristianismo

CAPÍTULO I. La esencia del hombre

ethno- & archaeo- astronomy · 2019. 11. 29. · r. angeloni (uls, chile) ethno...

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