Native American astronomy
Native American astronomy encompasses a rich and diverse understanding of the cosmos, interwoven with cultural practices and beliefs across various tribes. From the complex Mayan calendars to simpler solstice markings, early Native American civilizations demonstrated significant astronomical knowledge, which is often reflected in their creation stories and rituals. The Mayans, for instance, meticulously tracked celestial bodies, with their sacred texts detailing the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars, while also associating them with mythological figures such as the hero twins.
In North America, structures like medicine wheels, found primarily in the Rocky Mountain region, serve as ancient astronomical observatories, marking key solar events. Additionally, earthen mounds in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys showcase a connection to celestial patterns, with some aligning with the stars of the Big Dipper. Indigenous groups, such as the Skidi Pawnee and the Navajo, integrated cosmic arrangements into their village layouts and creation narratives, attributing sacred meanings to constellations and celestial phenomena. Overall, Native American astronomy is a testament to the deep relationship between these cultures and the universe, blending scientific observation with spiritual significance.
Native American astronomy
Tribes affected: Pantribal
Significance: The ancient people of the Americas observed the heavens carefully, and many built structures for observing or measuring the movement of the sun and stars
Early Native American knowledge of the heavens ranged from the complex Mayan calendars to more simple markings of the solstices. Throughout North America, references to the sun, moon, stars, and planets occur in creation accounts and other cultural practices.
In Central America, the Mayan calendar influenced civilizations from 100 b.c.e. to the time of the Spanish Conquest (1519-1697). Guatemalan “daykeepers” still use the original astronomical system for divination. The four extant books, or codices, in the hieroglyphic Mayan language are almanacs. The Dresden Codex records the revolution of Venus. Mayans observed the solar year as well as lunar cycles and the movements of stars. The Mayan creation account, the Popol Vuh, includes references to the Pleiades, the Big Dipper, and Ursa Minor (Draco). The Maya hero twins of the Mayan creation story are associated with the sun and moon as well as with Venus.
In the northern plains of Canada and the United States, medicine wheels attest an ancient knowledge of astronomy. The prehistoric wheels are spoked circles outlined by stones, up to 60 yards in diameter. About fifty medicine wheels are known to exist, most of which are on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The oldest medicine wheel, in Majorville, Alberta, dates to 4,500 years before the present, and it has a central cairn made of 50 tons of stones. Many medicine wheels mark sunrise points of equinoxes and solstices, while a few mark summer stars. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming has cairns that correspond to paths of Aldebaran, Rigel, and Sirius. These three stars rise a month apart during the summer.
In the Midwest, mounds in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys also reflect astronomical understanding. Hopewellian and Mississippian mounds are often in the shapes of animals or stepped temples, but the Marching Bear mounds in McGregor, Iowa, correspond to the stars in the Big Dipper. At Cahokia, Missouri, where 120 earthen mounds formed a large village, a circle of cedar posts marked sunrise solstices and the equinox. Archaeologists have nicknamed the reconstructed site Woodhenge, after Stonehenge.
Stars had sacred meanings to the Skidi Pawnee, who lived in the river valleys and plains of Nebraska. This band arranged their villages in the pattern of the North Star, evening star, and morning star. They arranged the posts of their earthen lodges in the same pattern, so each home repeated the cosmic arrangement. A painted hide at the Field Museum in Chicago records the Milky Way and many Pawnee constellations.
Ancient Anasazi sites in the Southwest still show the yearly cycle of the sun. A stone house at Hovenweep, Utah, has ports through which sunlight enters during the solstices and equinox. Stars were important to the nomadic Navajos. Their creation account describes how Black God made stars from crystals. He placed constellations in the sky, including First Big One (Scorpio), Revolving Male (Ursa Major), Revolving Female (part of Ursa Minor), Slender First One (in Orion), Rabbit Tracks (near Canis Major), and the Pleiades. Star charts on cave roofs had ceremonial importance.