Decanal Star Tables for Lunar Houses in Egypt?
1992; Wiley; Volume: 35; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1600-0498.1992.tb00867.x
ISSN1600-0498
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Architectural Studies
ResumoCentaurusVolume 35, Issue 1 p. 1-27 Decanal Star Tables for Lunar Houses in Egypt? H. Dalgas Christiansen, H. Dalgas ChristiansenSearch for more papers by this author H. Dalgas Christiansen, H. Dalgas ChristiansenSearch for more papers by this author First published: April 1992 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0498.1992.tb00867.xCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract The well known Egyptian diagonal star tables found in coffins divide the zodiac into 36 regions and deep night into 12 hours of unequal length, changing with the seasons. The later Ramesside star tables from around 1150 BC have been seen before as an imperfect attempt to create a 24 hour system. A reanalysis of data now shows them to describe a division of the sky into 27-29 regions, not 24, and they are therefore seen as listing lunar houses rather than hours. Some aspects of using transit stars are mentioned, and a computed check of Sirius as transit star gives a good fit for a date near 1600 BC. The use of lunar houses seems not to have been firmly dated anywhere at so early an age, and until now it has not been attested in Egypt or Europe at all before c. AD 300. The results are briefly compared to the ancient traditions of lunar houses and star transits in Asia, especially China. A new and more general result about solstice symmetries of decanal-type hours is given, derived from linear equations, not sphaerics. In the German translation of Ptolemy's proof of solstice symmetry there is a confusing error, which is corrected. None of the findings corroborate previous impressions of the low status of Egyptian astronomy. References Aratos 1983: Sky Signs (Phaenomena). Introduction and translation by Stanley Lombardo. Berkeley. Google Scholar Chatley, Herbert 1939: “The lunar mansions in Egypt. ISIS 31, pp. 394–97. 10.1086/347596 Google Scholar Neugebauer & Parker (196069). Gudai Hanyo(Ancient Chinese Literature) vol. III 1983: Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju (Chinese Publishing). Google Scholar Hawkins, Gerald S. and Shoshana K. Rosenthal 1967: “5,000- and 10,000-year star catalogs. Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics 10, pp. 141–179. 10.5479/si.00810231.10-2.141 Google Scholar Hunger, Hermann and David Pingree 1989: “ MUL. APIN. 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