Pierre_C
25-01-2025, 03:15 PM
The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders read the stars – book review
Duane Hamacher has written this masterful book about how indigenous peoples have viewed, interpreted and used the stars and celestial sights as part of their daily lives. His insights are based on critical research and guidance from indigenous elders and knowledge holders.
He shows how concepts such as the passage of the stars and constellations across the night sky, their changing characteristics, the phases and angles of the moon, the wandering planets, the position of the sun and even the dark depths of the Milky Way have informed the daily life of indigenous peoples past and present.
He reminds us that if scientific method is the repeated observation of phenomena to generate theories which are tested with more observations, then the indigenous peoples were accomplished scientists. They tested and refined their theories over tens of thousands of years, connecting the facts of nature with understandings relevant to human experience and to living life on Earth.
I found this book pleasing to read, like being taken on a nature journey by patient and knowledgeable indigenous guides. It gave me a deeper appreciation of how what I see in the night sky with my eyes really connects with the fundamental ebb and flow of the essence of living life.
There is something deeper on offer here – the ‘rediscovery’ of a meaningful and tangible connection to the night sky that has been lost to modern scientific method.
‘The First Astronomers’ is published by Allen & Unwin, 2022. All royalties go to charities supporting First Nations projects and people in astronomy.
I have written this as an independent review.
Further information can be found at https://www.thefirstastronomers.com
Duane Hamacher has written this masterful book about how indigenous peoples have viewed, interpreted and used the stars and celestial sights as part of their daily lives. His insights are based on critical research and guidance from indigenous elders and knowledge holders.
He shows how concepts such as the passage of the stars and constellations across the night sky, their changing characteristics, the phases and angles of the moon, the wandering planets, the position of the sun and even the dark depths of the Milky Way have informed the daily life of indigenous peoples past and present.
He reminds us that if scientific method is the repeated observation of phenomena to generate theories which are tested with more observations, then the indigenous peoples were accomplished scientists. They tested and refined their theories over tens of thousands of years, connecting the facts of nature with understandings relevant to human experience and to living life on Earth.
I found this book pleasing to read, like being taken on a nature journey by patient and knowledgeable indigenous guides. It gave me a deeper appreciation of how what I see in the night sky with my eyes really connects with the fundamental ebb and flow of the essence of living life.
There is something deeper on offer here – the ‘rediscovery’ of a meaningful and tangible connection to the night sky that has been lost to modern scientific method.
‘The First Astronomers’ is published by Allen & Unwin, 2022. All royalties go to charities supporting First Nations projects and people in astronomy.
I have written this as an independent review.
Further information can be found at https://www.thefirstastronomers.com