Mysteries and Discoveries of Archaeoastronomy: From Giza to Easter Island [Hardcover]

Giulio Magli (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387765646 | ISBN-13: 978-0387765648 | Publication Date: April 28, 2009 | Edition: 1

The book is divided into two parts. In the first, the reader is taken on an ideal ‘world tour’ of many wonderful and enigmatic places in almost every continent, in search of traces of astronomical knowledge and lore of the sky. In the second part, Giulio Magli uses the elements presented in the tour to show that the fundamental idea which led to the construction of the astronomically-related giant monuments was the foundation of power, a foundation which was exploited by ‘replicating’ the sky. A possible interpretive model then emerges that is founded on the relationship the ancients had with “nature”, in the sense of everything that surrounded them, the cosmos. The numerous monumental astronomically aligned structures of the past then become interpretable as acts of will, expressions of power on the part of those who held it; the will to replicate the heavenly plane here on earth and to build sacred landscapes. Finally, having formulated his hypothesis, Professor Magli returns to visit one specific place in detail, searching for proof. This in-depth examination studies the most compelling, the most intensively studied, the most famous and, until recently, the most misunderstood sacred landscape on the planet - Giza, in Egypt. The archaeoastronomical analysis of the orientation of the Giza pyramids leads to the hypothesis that the pyramids of Cheops and Chephren belong to the same construction project.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: "Magli … a theoretical physicist by training, turned to archeoastronomy a decade ago, the topic that marries astronomy to architecture, landscape, ancient astronomical lore, and culture. In this work, a translation of the 2005 Italian version, the author begins with what might be considered standard subjects for archeoastronomy: a survey of a wide range of ancient cultures and their remnants … . Two appendixes … and excellent line drawings and photographs are useful. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers." (M.-K. Hemenway, Choice, Vol. 47 (2), October, 2009) “Professor Magli … graduated to relativistic astrophysics, before ‘seeing the light’. His book … takes us on a guided tour of the world’s archaeoastronomical monuments. … His book is a comprehensive, well-illustrated, well-referenced, easily accessible intellectual joy. … The constructors of Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids lived only a hundred or so generations ago. … The quest to understand their astronomy, their minds, and their motivations is difficult and rewarding and worthy of encouragement. … Magli’s excellent book is an ideal place to start.” (David W. Hughes, The Observatory, Vol. 129 (1213), December, 2009)

From the Back Cover

This complete, authoritative study of the growing discipline of archaeoastronomy examines the role of astronomy in antiquity. Professor Guilio Magli provides a clear, up-to-date survey of current thinking on the motives of the ancients for building fabulous and mysterious monuments all over our planet. Was it an attempt to reproduce the sky on Earth? To bring down the power of the stars to where they could see it, worship it, and use it? The connecting thread is astronomy. Magli uses astronomy as a key to understanding our ancestors’ way of thinking. It is a challenge he likes to call "predicting the past." The motives of the ancients have often been misconstrued, maligned, or even dismissed. Magli shows the limitations of orthodox archaeology in relation to astronomically based artifacts and tries to understand what led the ancients to construct such magnificent structures as the city of Teotihuacan in the Mexico Valley, the Ceremonial Center of Chaco Canyon in the United States, the Avebury stone circle in Great Britain, and the great pyramids in Egypt. In this book, the reader is taken on a ‘world tour’ of many wonderful and enigmatic places on almost every continent, in search of traces of astronomical knowledge and lore of the sky. Then, the author discusses the fundamental ideas that he believes led to the construction of the giant monuments. Finally, Magli revisits one place in greater detail – Giza – in an attempt to provide proof for his ideas on the mindset of ancient cultures. This fascinating book will take you places in time you have never been, and stimulate your imagination in regards to other people and other cultures. The result will be a better understanding of who we are and where we come from.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 456 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387765646
• ISBN-13: 978-0387765648
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Realistic Book on Ancient Archaeoastronomy!, August 22, 2009

By 

Jack Kennedy Jr. "Jack Kennedy 276.275.4700" (Wise, Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mysteries and Discoveries of Archaeoastronomy: From Giza to Easter Island (Hardcover)

Professor Giulio Magli's book Archaeoastronomy provides the reader with a realistic, science-based, review/survey of the major structures used in antiquity to look at the planets and stars and how the night sky often mixed into ancient civilzations global cultures. This book should be used in colleges and universities as a part of the study of Western Civilization inasmuch as his work provides insights to how the ancients viewed the world, the planets, and stars. The author treats the astronomically-based artifacts with the respect and dignity they deserve in human history. The book would also be a classic in the study of the history of astonomy and, to a lesser extent, astrology since astronomy and astology were one in more ancient times.

IF the reader is looking for the UFO alien life-to-ancient civilization nexus, this is NOT the book for such mind play. The professor treats each site examined around the world with careful and cautious analysis of how the facilities were actually used in ancient times (as best as he can in modernity). I perosnally enjoyed the book more because of my visits to many of the sites described in my years of travels.

Ironically, I read this book while in China (July 2009) and during a visit to Xi'an which made the contents more alive while looking at ancient artifacts of the Chinese history of hundreds of years ago while awaiting the Total Solar Eclipse view from the China mainland. Nonetheless, I am pleased to have added this book to my personal collection since it provides the first serious work I have read on Archaeoastronomy. Professor Magli's book is lenghy but worthy read because it treats the topic with serious academic respect and duty. I recommend it to those with a serious appetite for honesty, scientific analysis, and logical reasoning of ancient astronomical achievements.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archaeoastronomy for Dummies, April 12, 2010

By 

R. Engelhardt "Rick" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mysteries and Discoveries of Archaeoastronomy: From Giza to Easter Island (Hardcover)

The book is an English translation of an Italian book. It seems to be well-researched. I have begun to dig deeper into this field because of this book. It is a very easy read even for dummies like me. It helps to keep [...] handy just in case. This field tells us that many of the "Indian" mound complexes, pyramids, and others structures going back thousands of years dealt with ancient peoples' understanding of the heavenly bodies, and using that knowledge to time yearly events such as vernal equinox and other seasons, even though they did not possess the intricate instruments of today. For instance, the pyraminds at Giza were only one site of many, and not the oldest. I've gone on to read about Cahokia in Illinois and Poverty Point in Louisiana. I've visited Pinson Mounds near Jackson, TN and Mound Bottom on the Harpeth River west of Nashville, TN. It's awe-spiring to read about this history that took place a thousand years and farther in the past.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, But Hard to Read, May 7, 2011

By 

Alan Dale Daniel (Carson City, Nevada, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mysteries and Discoveries of Archaeoastronomy: From Giza to Easter Island (Hardcover)

I found this book difficult to read. The writing style isn't the kind I like.

The book is set up in two parts. The first is a detailed explanation of the archeological sites in question and the second is an explanation of the meaning of what is found at the sites. The overall conclusion is that we bring our present day outlook to all these sites and the explanations of what we find there.

One cannot argue with the conclusions, but the conclusion could have been reached without a hundred pages of detail about what is found at each site.

This is not a book like Chariots of the Gods which looks to aliens or other worldly contact to explain the archeological sites, it is much more of a textbook with lots of pictures and details about what the ancients left behind for us to study. It is unfortunate that no real explanations of what we have found can be gleaned from the book. What is apparent is ancient humans existed for over 150,000 years without buildings of any real size and suddenly massive megalithic structures sprang up around the world. Why is simply beyond us and we cannot bring their world view forward to the present to help us understand what was going on. In addition, we should not impose upon the ancients our own world view. With this I totally agree.

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