From the Neolithic era to the Aztecs, the story of how our ancestors engaged with the heavens.
Few of us can accurately identify the stars and constellations, the phases of the moon, or the hour and position of sunrise, but our forebears had an intimate relationship with the heavens. People and the Sky explores how ancient hunters, farmers, sailors, rulers, and storytellers were all once cosmically connected.
Anthony Aveni reveals how !Kung and Mursi hunter-gatherers depended on signals in the sky for their survival and sustenance; how master Polynesian sailors navigated a seemingly limitless watery world by star bearings; how social cohesion in cultures as diverse as the Pawnee and the Inca was mirrored in celestial imagery; and how the cosmic connection between the arrangement of Aztec and Chinese cities and the constellations served as an expression of political authority.
Through most of human history, people found meaning in the dance of the cosmic denizens. Today, many aspects of this intimate contact between daily life and what happens in the sky have disappeared. Did our ancestors have an understanding of the cosmos that we ourselves lack? How and why did it all happen? Aveni addresses these questions and more in this engaging and erudite book. 67 illustrations, 9 in color.
"If you've ever wondered how the Maya calculated their calendar or exactly what it was that those Babylonian astronomers were doing ontop of their towers, this is the book for you."—James Trefil, author of Why Science?and The Nature of Science
As if that weren't enough, there's an enemy agent on board the airship... Extravagant and effervescent, The Sky People is alternate-history SF adventure at its best.
Despite her own Pueblo blood, Kesbe is an outsider; only by adopting the ways of the People of the Sky, including a ritual that may turn her, too, into a throwback and could even kill her, can she find the help she needs to fulfill her ...
In this collection of Patricia Grace's stories we meet the sky people, those under the guardianship of Ranginui and Sky Parent, who are the unwanted, the dispossessed, the wounded in love.
The result is an enthralling series of unique, original, true stories of encounters with space travelers, giants, little people, and UFOs. Sky People may very well change the way you perceive and experience the world.
Discusses the oppression of women in the developing world, sharing example stories about victims and survivors who are working to raise awareness, counter abuse, and campaign for women's rights.
Mama's away one night, and her son can't sleep.
This is a different kind of weather book. "Soul of the Sky" is not preoccupied with charting fronts, defining what an isobar is, or trying to get you to memorize...
In the earliest Greek literature, it is referred to simply as a bird, but by the time of Ptolemy, the constellation was recognized as a swan and associated with Zeus's seduction of Leda, the Queen of Sparta. According to this legend, ...
Joseph Schwartz is sixty-two. This is young Isaac Asimov's first novel, full of wonders and ideas, the book that launched the novels of the Galactic Empire, culminating in the Foundation series. This is Golden Age SF at its finest.
Because the Night Chant reminds the audience of the ritual actions and the lunar and solar events that have occurred throughout the year , the poem serves to instill in Sayatasha's listeners the important observations of the ritual ...