African Cultural Astronomy Current Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastrono
Astronomy is the science of studying the sky using telescopes and light collectors such as photographic plates or CCD detectors. However, people have always studied the sky and continue to study the sky without the aid of instruments this is the realm of
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African Cultural Astronomy Current Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy research in Africa
Jarita C. Holbrook Editor
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
R. Thebe Medupe Editor
University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Johnson O. Urama Editor
University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enuga State, Nigeria
Editors Jarita C. Holbrook University of Arizona Tucson, AZ USA
R. Thebe Medupe University of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
Johnson O. Urama University of Nigeria Nsukka Enuga State Nigeria
ISBN: 978-1-4020-6638-2
e-ISBN: 978-1-4020-6639-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007936372 c 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
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Contents
Chasing the Shadow of the Moon: The 2006 Ghana Eclipse Conference . . . Jarita C. Holbrook
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Part I: Cultural Astronomy Research Lessons The Use of Ethnographic Methods in Cultural Astronomy Research . . . . . 21 Barth Chukwuezi A Brief Outline on the Geographical Background of Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Basil U. Eze The Astronomical Gnomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 J. McKim Malville Naked-eye Astronomy for Cultural Astronomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 J. C. Holbrook and Audra Baleisis Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Shawna Holbrook Integrating African Cultural Astronomy into the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Sanlyn Buxner and Shawna Holbrook A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Eclipses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Timothy F. Slater Teaching Cultural Astronomy: On the Development and Evolution of the Syllabus at Bath Spa University and the University of Wales, Lampeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Nick Campion v
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Contents
Part II Current Research in African Cultural Astronomy Evidence of Ancient African Beliefs in Celestial Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Felix A. Chami Astronomy of Nabta Playa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 J. McKim Malville, Romauld Schild, Fred Wendorf and Robert Brenmer Romans, Astronomy and the Qibla: Urban Form and Orientation of Islamic Cities of Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 M. E. Bonine The Timbuktu Astronomy Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Rodney Thebe Medupe, Brian Warner, Shamil J
