Honors Program
Honors in History
Date of Award
5-2012
Thesis Professor(s)
William D. Burgess Jr.
Thesis Professor Department
History
Thesis Reader(s)
Gary D. Henson, Daniel Newcomer
Abstract
Astronomy is the oldest scientific field in human history. As such, it is linked heavily with Ancient History as a central part of understanding, scientific development and cultural appreciation in the world of antiquity. The goal of this thesis will be to investigate the importance of the ancient astronomers, their discoveries, the differences in cultural understandings of the universe due to environmental and political reasons, planets and the cosmos, and the impacts their discoveries had on the ancient world.
Primary sources will be various writings and documents by ancient astronomers and philosophers such as Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Plato and the Pythagorean concept. Also to be consulted will be ancient documents that explain the cosmos and nature of this universe from the cultural aspect of the Egyptian, Maya, Mesopotamian, and Hellenistic civilizations. Secondary sources will a variety of modern historical and scientific writings about the history of astronomy. These will include Astronomy of the Ancients by Kenneth Brecher and Michael Feirtag, Ancient Egyptian Science by Marshall Clagett, and A History of The Ancient Mathematical Astronomy by Neugebauer. Also included will be modern sources that explain astronomical events and notions.
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ely, Joshua J., "Society and Science: Ancient Astronomy." (2012). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 31. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/31
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.