Astronomical chronology
Encyclopedia
Astronomical chronology, or astronomical dating, is a technical method of dating events or artifacts that are associated with astronomical phenomena. Written records of historical events that include descriptions of astronomical phenomena have done much to clarify the chronology of the Ancient Near East
; works of art which depict the configuration of the stars and planets and buildings which are oriented to the rising and setting of celestial bodies at a particular time have all been dated through astronomical calculations.
Astronomical dating, like other forms of historical interpretation, requires care in interpreting the surviving written records. John Steele has proposed three questions that must be asked when dating an event: Does the record refer to an actual astronomical event, or is this merely a modern assumption? If it does refer to an actual astronomical event, is the source reliable? Can the record provide an unambiguous date without making unwarranted assumptions about ancient astronomical observational methods?
Babylonian astronomical diaries provide detailed and unambiguous accounts of the positions of all the visible planets, often in relation to specific stars, that have been used to provide precise dates of events like the defeat of Darius III
by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela
on 1 October 331 BCE and of Alexander's subsequent death on 11 June 323.
Since the success of this method depends on the reliability of the written sources and the precision of their accounts of astronomical phenomena, attempts to date literary texts astronomically, which may describe astronomical events loosely or even as metaphors, have led researchers to conclusions that appear precise, but rely on invalid assumptions and are consequently less widely accepted. Thus the attempts to date Vedic texts describing the Pleiades as rising "due East" to about 2300 BCE, which is the time when the Pleiades are "exactly" due East is complicated by the fact that poetic descriptions need not be taken as reflecting precise astronomical observations while precession is a very slow process, which makes only small changes in the azimuth of a star rising in the East.
. For a configuration accurate to ±15° (that is, within a single sign) the positions of these seven bodies will only return to the same configuration once in about 3700 years. A particular case involved a medieval illuminated manuscript
which portrayed the position of these seven celestial bodies on 18 March 816; corresponding to the period when the manuscript was written. This calculation demonstrated that this illustration was not a copy of an earlier classical depiction of the position of the stars. The rapidly moving Moon is the most sensitive indicator for the exact time; if one can estimate the indicated position of the Moon to within a degree, the time of the diagram can be computed to within an hour.
A striking example of this method was an astrological portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton
(1540–1591), which depicted the positions of the seven classical planets in the zodiac and noted the computed positions of the planets to the nearest minute of arc. Here the largest source of error in the date was the uncertainty of 16th-century astronomical calculations. The resulting time was about noon of 12 December 1581.
approach has been used to date structures that are believed to have been oriented on astronomical principles by measuring their orientation and computing the date in the past when a single specified celestial body, whether the Sun or a selected star, rises or sets at the measured azimuth. The astronomer, Norman Lockyer, applied this method to Stonehenge
by measuring the orientation of the Stonehenge avenue and comparing it to the position of solstitial sunrise, which changes slowly due to the changing obliquity of the ecliptic. The archaeologist, F. C. Penrose, applied a similar method to ancient Greek Temples, attempting to establish their dates by relating their orientation to the appearance of stars on the horizon, the position of which changes slowly due to the precession of the equinoxes
.
The wide variance of these dates from historically accepted ones led the architect and archaeologist, William Bell Dinsmoor
, to mistrust dates established by the slowly changing obliquity of the ecliptic or by stellar alignments, which involve an arbitrary selection of a star that rises on the proper azimuth. Instead he proposed a method employing what was already known from historical records concerning the dates of construction of Greek temples, the festivals associated with specific temples, and the nature of the Greek Lunisolar calendar
. Since the date of a festival in the Greek lunisolar calendar only recurs on the same date in the solar calendar every eight or nineteen years, Dinsmoor identified a festival connected with a specific temple and was able to determine the exact year near the historically recorded construction date when the Sun rose in alignment with the temple on the date of the festival.
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
; works of art which depict the configuration of the stars and planets and buildings which are oriented to the rising and setting of celestial bodies at a particular time have all been dated through astronomical calculations.
Dating historical events
The use of descriptions of astronomical phenomena to date historical events began in the sixteenth century, a time of a renewed humanistic interest in history and of increasingly precise astronomical tables. In the cases of unique astronomical events like eclipses, since eclipses are relatively infrequent events, they can be dated to the exact date. When the circumstances are not exact and there are several possible eclipses, one can often use other details such as the month of the eclipse or the position of other stars and planets to identify the specific eclipse.Astronomical dating, like other forms of historical interpretation, requires care in interpreting the surviving written records. John Steele has proposed three questions that must be asked when dating an event: Does the record refer to an actual astronomical event, or is this merely a modern assumption? If it does refer to an actual astronomical event, is the source reliable? Can the record provide an unambiguous date without making unwarranted assumptions about ancient astronomical observational methods?
Babylonian astronomical diaries provide detailed and unambiguous accounts of the positions of all the visible planets, often in relation to specific stars, that have been used to provide precise dates of events like the defeat of Darius III
Darius III of Persia
Darius III , also known by his given name of Codomannus, was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC....
by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela
Battle of Gaugamela
The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the ancient Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.-Location:Darius chose a flat, open plain...
on 1 October 331 BCE and of Alexander's subsequent death on 11 June 323.
Since the success of this method depends on the reliability of the written sources and the precision of their accounts of astronomical phenomena, attempts to date literary texts astronomically, which may describe astronomical events loosely or even as metaphors, have led researchers to conclusions that appear precise, but rely on invalid assumptions and are consequently less widely accepted. Thus the attempts to date Vedic texts describing the Pleiades as rising "due East" to about 2300 BCE, which is the time when the Pleiades are "exactly" due East is complicated by the fact that poetic descriptions need not be taken as reflecting precise astronomical observations while precession is a very slow process, which makes only small changes in the azimuth of a star rising in the East.
Dating artifacts
Among the artifacts that can most readily be dated by astronomical techniques are depictions of the positions of the celestial bodies at a particular time. Since the motions of the celestial bodies are all at different periods, it takes many centuries for all the planets plus the Sun and the Moon, to reach the same positions in the signs of the ZodiacZodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
. For a configuration accurate to ±15° (that is, within a single sign) the positions of these seven bodies will only return to the same configuration once in about 3700 years. A particular case involved a medieval illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
which portrayed the position of these seven celestial bodies on 18 March 816; corresponding to the period when the manuscript was written. This calculation demonstrated that this illustration was not a copy of an earlier classical depiction of the position of the stars. The rapidly moving Moon is the most sensitive indicator for the exact time; if one can estimate the indicated position of the Moon to within a degree, the time of the diagram can be computed to within an hour.
A striking example of this method was an astrological portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton
Christopher Hatton
Sir Christopher Hatton was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England.-Early days:...
(1540–1591), which depicted the positions of the seven classical planets in the zodiac and noted the computed positions of the planets to the nearest minute of arc. Here the largest source of error in the date was the uncertainty of 16th-century astronomical calculations. The resulting time was about noon of 12 December 1581.
Dating structures by their orientation
A more controversial archaeoastronomicalArchaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
approach has been used to date structures that are believed to have been oriented on astronomical principles by measuring their orientation and computing the date in the past when a single specified celestial body, whether the Sun or a selected star, rises or sets at the measured azimuth. The astronomer, Norman Lockyer, applied this method to Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
by measuring the orientation of the Stonehenge avenue and comparing it to the position of solstitial sunrise, which changes slowly due to the changing obliquity of the ecliptic. The archaeologist, F. C. Penrose, applied a similar method to ancient Greek Temples, attempting to establish their dates by relating their orientation to the appearance of stars on the horizon, the position of which changes slowly due to the precession of the equinoxes
Precession of the equinoxes
In astronomy, axial precession is a gravity-induced, slow and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In particular, it refers to the gradual shift in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation, which, like a wobbling top, traces out a pair of cones joined...
.
The wide variance of these dates from historically accepted ones led the architect and archaeologist, William Bell Dinsmoor
William Bell Dinsmoor
William Bell Dinsmoor, Sr. was an architectural historian of classical Greece and a Columbia University professor of art and archaeology.-Biography:He was born on July 29, 1886 in Windham, New Hampshire....
, to mistrust dates established by the slowly changing obliquity of the ecliptic or by stellar alignments, which involve an arbitrary selection of a star that rises on the proper azimuth. Instead he proposed a method employing what was already known from historical records concerning the dates of construction of Greek temples, the festivals associated with specific temples, and the nature of the Greek Lunisolar calendar
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...
. Since the date of a festival in the Greek lunisolar calendar only recurs on the same date in the solar calendar every eight or nineteen years, Dinsmoor identified a festival connected with a specific temple and was able to determine the exact year near the historically recorded construction date when the Sun rose in alignment with the temple on the date of the festival.
External links
- van Gent, R.H., Astronomical Chronology