World's earliest observatory discovered in China, 4100 years old.

World's earliest observatory discovered in China

Chinese archaeologists said they have found the world earliest observatory, dated back to some 4,100 years ago, in north China's Shanxi Province.

The ancient observatory in the Taosi relics site in Shanxi Province is at least 2,000 years older than the 1,000-year-old observatory built by the Maya in central America, said He Nu, a research follow with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He told Xinhua on Sunday that the observatory, built at the end of the primitive society, "was not only used for observing astronomical phenomena but also for sacrificial rites."

The remains of the observatory, in the shape of a semicircle 40 meters in diameter in the main observation platform and 60 meters in diameter in the outer circle, were made by rammed earth in three circles.

Archaeologists inferred that 13 stone pillars, at least four meters tall, stood on the foundation of the first circle originally, forming 12 gaps between them.

"The ancient people observed the direction of sunrise through the gaps and distinguished the different seasons of the year," said He.

In order to test the conjecture, archaeologists spent a year and a half simulating the observations of the ancients at the site....cont'd

http://english.people.com.cn/200510/30/eng20051030_217729.html

http://www.spacetoday.org/DeepSpace/Telescopes/Observatories/China/LinfenObservatory.html

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China's ancient observatories: ....................
Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory is situated in Duke Zhou Gong's shrine, Gaocheng Town, near Dengfeng in Henan Province. This site has a long tradition of atronomical observations, from the time of the Western Zhou up to early Yuan Dynasty. Actually, one can see a gnomon used for the Da Yan calendar in 729 AD and the great observatory of the Yuan Dynasty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaocheng_Astronomical_Observatory






Ananova - May 12, 2004

A Chinese star chart possibly dating from the 7th century AD mapped the heavens with an accuracy unsurpassed until the Renaissance, according to research.

The Dunhuang chart is the oldest manuscript star map in the world and one of the most valuable treasures in astronomy.

The fine paper scroll, measuring 210 by 25 centimetres, (82 by 10 inches) displays no less than 1,345 stars grouped in 257 non-constellation patterns.

Such detail was not matched until Galileo and other European astronomers began searching the skies hundreds of years later - and they had the advantage of telescopes.

The chart includes very faint stars that are extremely difficult to find with the naked eye. It also represents the sky as a sphere projected on a cylinder, a modern technique first adopted in Europe in the 15th century.

The first part of the document consists of a collection of predictions based on shapes of clouds - evidence of the important role divination played in ancient China.

Dr Francoise Praderie, from the Paris Observatory, who studied the map with fellow French astronomer Dr Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud, said: "The origin of the star chart's manufacture and real use remains unknown. One can conjecture that it was used for military and travellers' needs and probably also for uranomancy - divination by consulting the heavens - as suggested by the cloud divination texts preceding the charts.

"The long tradition in China of searching the sky for celestial omens has therefore led to an early and unsurpassed precision in star catalogues."

I wonder if Noah knew about this...