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Posted by baalke on March 1, 2007, 8:37 pm
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*****EMBARGOED UNTIL 7PM UK TIME (2PM US EASTERN TIME) THURSDAY,
MARCH 1******
PIO Contacts:
Ather Mirza
University of Leicester
+ 44 (0) 116 252 3335
pressoffice@le.ac.uk
Janet Rettig Emanuel,
Yale University,
203-432-2157
janet.emanuel@yale.edu
THE THIRTEEN TOWERS: Peruvian Citadel is Site of Earliest Ancient
Solar
Observatory in the Americas
Existence of sophisticated Sun cults uncovered by researchers from
University of Leicester and Yale University
IMAGES: Available on request-email pressoffice@le.ac.uk
A 2,300 year old solar observatory in Peru has been identified by new
research published today (March 1), in the journal Science, by
archaeologists from the University of Leicester and Yale University.
The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo have been discovered to span, almost
exactly, the annual rising and setting arcs of the sun when viewed
from
two specially constructed observation points.
The existence of this observatory predates the European conquests by
1,800 years and even precedes the monuments of similar purpose
constructed by the Mayans in Central America.
Chankillo is a large ceremonial centre covering several square
kilometers. It was better known in the past for a heavily fortified
hilltop structure with massive walls, restricted gates, and parapets.
But the purpose of a 300m-long line of Thirteen Towers lying along a
small hill nearby had remained a mystery. New evidence now identifies
it
as a solar observatory.
And the researchers go further-pointing to evidence of an ancient Sun
cult participating in public rituals and feasts directly linked to the
observation and interpretation of the seasonal passage of the Sun.
They claim Sun worship and related cosmological beliefs could have
helped to legitimize the authority of an elite class - two millennia
before the Incas.
The research was carried out by Ivan Ghezzi, a graduate student in the
Department of Anthropology at Yale University who is now
Archaeological
Director of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (National Institute for
Culture) in Peru, and Professor Clive Ruggles, of the School of
Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester.
Professor Ruggles is one of the world's leading authorities on
archaeoastronomy.
Recorded accounts from as early as the 16th century A.D. detail
practices of state-regulated sun worship during Inca times, and
related
social and cosmological beliefs. These speak of towers being used to
mark the rising or setting position of the sun at certain times in the
year, but no trace of the towers remained. At Chankillo, not only were
there towers marking the sun's position throughout the year, but they
remain in place, and the site was constructed much earlier - in
approximately the 4th century B.C.
"Archaeological research in Peru is constantly pushing back the
origins
of civilization of the Americas in the Andean area. In this case, the
2,300 year old solar observatory at Chankillo is the earliest such
structure identified and unlike all other sites contains alignments
that
cover the entire solar year," said Dr Ghezzi.
Chankillo is situated in the costal Peruvian desert. From the
observing
points, the thirteen towers are strikingly visible on the horizon,
resembling large prehistoric teeth. Around the observing points are
spaces where artifacts indicate that ritual gatherings were held.
For many years, there has been a controversy as to whether Chankillo
was
a fort or a ceremonial centre. The current report offers strong
evidence
for an additional use - as a solar observatory and a fortified temple.
Carbon-dated by the researchers, the monument at Chankillo was
constructed in the same time period as other "Wonders of the Ancient
World." It is remarkable as the earliest known complete solar
observatory in the Americas that defines all the major aspects of the
solar year.
Ghezzi was originally working at the site as a Yale graduate student
conducting thesis work on ancient warfare in the region, with a focus
on
the fortress at the site.
Noting the configuration of the 13 towers in 2001, Ghezzi wondered
about
a relation to the lunar year cycle. "Since the 19th century there was
speculation that the 13-tower array could be lunar demarcation - but
no
one followed up on it. We were there. We had extraordinary support
from
the Peruvian Government, Earthwatch and Yale University. We said,
'Let's
study it while we are here!'"
To his great surprise, within days they had measurements indicating
that
one tower aligned with the June solstice and another with the December
solstice. But it was several years before Ghezzi connected with
co-author Clive Ruggles, a leading British authority on
archeoastronomy.
Ruggles was immediately impressed with the monument structures.
"I am used to being disappointed when visiting places people claim to
be
ancient astronomical observatories." said Ruggles. "Since everything
must point somewhere and there are a great many promising astronomical
targets, the evidence - when you look at it objectively - turns out
all
too often to be completely unconvincing."
"Chankillo, on the other hand, provided a complete set of horizon
markers - the Thirteen Towers - and two unique and indisputable
observation points," Ruggles said. "The fact that, as seen from these
two points, the towers just span the solar rising and setting arcs
provides the clearest possible indication that they were built
specifically to facilitate sunrise and sunset observations throughout
the seasonal year."
What they found at Chankillo was much more than the archival records
had
indicated. "Chankillo reflects well-developed astronomical principles,
which suggests the original forms of astronomy must be quite older,"
said Ghezzi.
The researchers also knew that Inca cultural practices in much later
times were intimately linked to the political operations of the Inca
king, who considered himself an offspring of the sun. Finding this
observatory revealed a much older precursor where calendrical
observances may well have helped to support the social and political
hierarchy. They suggest that this is the first unequivocal evidence,
not
only in the Andes but in all the Americas, of a monument built to
track
the movement of the sun throughout the year.
According to the authors, monuments are statements about how a society
is organized; about who has power, and who does not. The people who
controlled these monuments "controlled" the movement of the sun. The
authors pose that this knowledge could have been translated into the
very powerful political and ideological statement, "See, I control the
sun!"
Chankillo is one of the most exciting archaeoastronomical sites I have
come across," said Ruggles. "It seems extraordinary that an ancient
astronomical device as clear as this could have remained undiscovered
for so long."
Support for the project came from Yale University, the Pontificia
Universidad Catolica del Peru, the National Science Foundation, the
Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Field Museum, the Schwerin Foundation,
Earthwatch Institute and the Asociacion Cultural Peruano Britinica
(Anglo-Peruvian Cultural Association) in Lima, Peru.
Citation: Science (March 1, 2007)
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
Clive Ruggles is Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the University of
Leicester. Archaeoastronomy is best defined as the study of beliefs
and
practices concerning the sky in the past, and especially in
prehistory,
and the uses to which people's knowledge of the skies was put. Clive's
interest in this interdisciplinary and often controversial field of
study originated in the 1970s when he was an astrophysics PhD student
with strong interests in archaeology. He transferred to the Department
of Archaeology in Cardiff and twenty years on-having held posts in
Departments of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geography, and having
researched in computer graphics, metadata systems, GIS, learning
technologies and computing applications in archaeology-Clive obtained
his current post in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History. It
is
thought to be the only Chair in this field in the world.
Clive is President of the Prehistoric Society and Vice-President of
the
History of Astronomy Commission within the International Astronomical
Union.
The focus of much of Clive's fieldwork over the years has been the
Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments and landscapes of Britain and
Ireland. His major book on this subject, Astronomy in Prehistoric
Britain and Ireland, was published by Yale University Press in 1999
and
won a publishers' award.
Clive's main ongoing field project is in southern Peru, where along
with
Ivan Ghezzi and others he is examining the geoglyphs in an area to the
south of the famous "Nasca lines". He also has ongoing field projects
in
Hawaii and has recently been working on a critical synthesis of
archaeoastronomy throughout Europe. He has also worked on the
ethnoastronomy of modern indigenous communities in East Africa.
Apart from Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland, Clive's many
published books include Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of
Cosmologies and Myth published by ABC-CLIO in 2005, and Records in
Stone
reprinted by Cambridge University Press in 2002. Cultural Astronomy in
New and Old World Cosmologies, co-edited with Gary Urton, is due to
appear later this year, published by the University Press of Colorado.
For more information see Clive's website http://www.le.ac.uk/ar/rug/.
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