Anthony Aveni - Böcker

In anticipation of solar eclipses visible in 2017 and 2024, an exploration of the scientific and cultural significance of this mesmerizing cosmic displaySince the first humans looked up and saw the sun swallowed by darkness, our species has been captivated by solar eclipses. Astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni explains the history and culture surrounding solar eclipses, from prehistoric Stonehenge to Babylonian creation myths, to a confirmation of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, to a spectacle that left New Yorkers in the moon’s shadow, to future eclipses that will capture human imaginations.  In one accessible and engaging read, Aveni explains the science behind the phenomenon, tracks eclipses across the ancient world, and examines the roles of solar eclipses in modern times to reveal the profound effects these cosmic events have had on human history. Colored by his own experiences—Aveni has witnessed eight total solar eclipses in his lifetime—his account of astronomy’s most storied phenomenon will enthrall anyone who has looked up at the sky with wonder.

Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in constellation stories from diverse cultures “Aveni skillfully guides us around the awesome night sky through the imagination of different peoples around the world, past and present. A wonderful treasury of cultural astronomy.”—Jacqueline Mitton, author of Zoo in the SkyWe can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing readers to tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non‑Western and Indigenous, ancient and contemporary. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect reading for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky.

An accessible exploration of how diverse cultures have explained humanity’s origins through narratives about the natural environmentDrawing from a vast array of creation myths—Babylonian, Greek, Aztec, Maya, Inca, Chinese, Hindu, Navajo, Polynesian, African, Norse, Inuit, and more—this concise illustrated book uncovers both the similarities and differences in our attempts to explain the universe.  Anthony Aveni, an award-winning author and professor of astronomy and anthropology, examines the ways various cultures around the world have attempted to explain our origins, and what roles the natural environment plays in shaping these narratives. The book also celebrates the audacity of the human imagination.  Whether the first humans emerged from a cave, as in the Inca myths, or from bamboo stems, as the Bantu people of Africa believed, or whether the universe is simply the result of Vishnu’s cyclical inhales and exhales, each of these fascinating stories reflects a deeper understanding of the culture it arose from as well as its place in the larger human narrative.

Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in constellation stories from diverse cultures “Aveni skillfully guides us around the awesome night sky through the imagination of different peoples around the world, past and present. A wonderful treasury of cultural astronomy.”—Jacqueline Mitton, author of Zoo in the SkyWe can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing readers to tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non‑Western and Indigenous, ancient and contemporary. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect reading for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky.

In this authoritative, accessible, and at times funny and irreverent work, distinguished anthropologist Anthony Aveni speaks to the trained astrophysicist and the curious layperson alike about a simple but previously unexplored question: Why do we assume aliens, if they are really out there, behave just like us?Aveni's newest work departs significantly from the usual scientific treatment of extraterrestrial intelligence by probing the historical and widely neglected anthropological record, which offers relevant incidents of contact among terrestrial cultures. Beginning with theories of the evolution of life and culture advocated by astrobiologists, Aliens Like Us? explores how the Western cultural imagination is influenced by ways of knowing that are deeply embedded in the minds of the questioners—for example, how we consider the ownership of property, the idea of progress, and even the way we classify things. The lessons of anthropology offer not only value structures from other cultures that differ profoundly from our own but also testify to the diverse ways in which cultures interact.Finally, on the potential question of first contact, Aveni closes with a fascinating exploration of the image of extraterrestrials in popular culture that is derived in part from the hugely influential realm of science fiction.

Are aliens even out there? If so, why do we assume we can imagine what they look like, or how they will relate humanity? Anthony Aveni provides us with a thoroughly entertaining analysis of our fasincation and speculation of what is out there. In this authoritative, accessible, and at times funny and irreverent work, distinguished astronomer/anthropologist Anthony Aveni speaks to the trained astrophysicist and the curious layperson alike about a simple but previously unexplored question: Why do we assume aliens, if they are really out there, behave just like us? Aveni’s newest work departs from the usual scientific treatment of extraterrestrial intelligence by probing the historical and widely neglected anthropological record, which offers relevant analogous incidents of contact among terrestrial cultures. Beginning with theories of the evolution of life and culture advocated by astrobiologists, Aliens Like Us? explores how the Western cultural imagination is influenced by ways of knowing that are deeply embedded in the minds of the questioners—for example, how we consider the ownership of property, the idea of progress, and even the way we classify things. The lessons of anthropology offer not only value structures from other cultures that differ profoundly from our own but also testify to the diverse ways in which "alien" cultures interact. Finally, on the question of potential first contact, Aveni closes with a fascinating exploration of the image of extraterrestrials in popular culture that is derived in part from the hugely influential realm of science fiction.

"Aveni ...explores the interplay of culture and time in this edifying and readable cross-cultural study of timekeeping through the ages." -The Sciences

Disputes over religion and science, such as the divide between teaching "intelligent design" and evolution in U.S. schools, have brought to the public eye a struggle that Anthony Aveni argues is as old as culture itself. All societies seek to understand the natural world, but their search is shaped by culturally distinct views and experiences. In "Uncommon Sense", Aveni explores the common and conflicting ways that ancient and contemporary societies have searched for the literal truth about the natural world's mysteries, from dinosaur bones to the Star of Bethlehem. Aveni demonstrates that a society's approach to making sense of the natural world can serve as a working definition of its culture, so strongly does it resonate with fundamental values and assumptions. In ten fascinating essays, Aveni examines topics that have absorbed scientists, religious figures, and ordinary citizens over the centuries. He traces the tug of war between astronomy and astrology, reveals the underpinnings of our notions of cartography and the representation of space and time, and much more.Readers interested in science, history, and world cultures will revel in this celebration of different cultures' common and uncommon questions and conclusions about the natural world.

Gazing into the black skies from the Anasazi observatory at Chimney Rock or the Castillo Pyramid in the Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá, a modern visitor might wonder what ancient stargazers looked for in the skies and what they saw. Once considered unresearchable, these questions now drive cultural astronomers who draw on written and unwritten records and a constellation of disciplines to reveal the wonders of ancient and contemporary astronomies.Cultural astronomy, first called archaeoastronomy, has evolved at ferocious speed since its genesis in the 1960s, with seminal essays and powerful rebuttals published in far-flung, specialized journals. Until now, only the most closely involved scholars could follow the intellectual fireworks. In Foundations of New World Cultural Astronomy, Anthony Aveni, one of cultural astronomy's founders and top scholars, offers a selection of the essays that built the field, from foundational works to contemporary scholarship.Including four decades of research throughout the Americas by linguists, archaeologists, historians, ethnologists, astronomers, and engineers, this reader highlights the evolution of the field through thematic organization and point-counterpoint articles. Aveni - an award-winning author and former National Professor of the Year - serves up incisive commentary, background for the uninitiated, and suggested reading, questions, and essay topics. Students, readers, and scholars will relish this collection and its tour of a new field in which discoveries about ancient ways of looking at the skies cast light on our contemporary views.

This volume offers new calendrical models and methodologies for reading, dating, and interpreting the general significance of the Madrid Codex. The longest of the surviving Maya codices, this manuscript includes texts and images painted by scribes conversant in Maya hieroglyphic writing, a written means of communication practiced by Maya elites from the second to the fifteenth centuries A.D. Some scholars have recently argued that the Madrid Codex originated in the Petén region of Guatemala and postdates European contact. The contributors to this volume challenge that view by demonstrating convincingly that it originated in northern Yucatán and was painted in the Pre-Columbian era. In addition, several contributors reveal provocative connections among the Madrid and Borgia group of codices from Central Mexico.Contributors include: Harvey M. Bricker, Victoria R. Bricker, John F. Chuchiak IV, Christine L. Hernández, Bryan R. Just, Merideth Paxton, and John Pohl. Additional support for this publication was generously provided by the Eugene M. Kayden Fund at the University of Colorado.

In Class Not Dismissed, award-winning professor Anthony Aveni tells the personal story of his six decades in college classrooms and some of the 10,000 students who have filled them. Through anecdotes of his own triumphs and tribulations—some amusing, others heartrending—Aveni reveals his teaching story and thoughts on the future of higher education. Although in recent years the lecture has come under fire as a pedagogical method, Aveni ardently defends lecturing to students. He shares his secrets on crafting an engaging lecture and creating productive dialogue in class discussions. He lays out his rules on classroom discipline and tells how he promotes the lost art of listening. He is a passionate proponent of the liberal arts and core course requirements as well as a believer in sound teaching promoted by active scholarship.Aveni is known to his students as a consummate storyteller. In Class Not Dismissed he shares real stories about everyday college life that shed light on serious educational issues. The result is a humorous, reflective, inviting, and powerful inquiry into higher education that will be of interest to anyone invested in the current and future state of college and university education.