ASTRONOMY AS A CULTURAL HERITAGE OF OUR ANCESTORS

Abstract

I want in this essay to enhance the Andean Culture, which shows us that what happens in the sky is related to our daily lives, and makes us live in harmony with nature. Astronomy gives us the vision that the world and nature is more than everyday problems, gives us the vision to realize that we really are in permanent relationship with the cosmos, with the infinite space given to our eyes by the sky at night. Astronomy for me is the solution for our selfishness, to know who we are and where we came from.
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All began 13,7 thousand million years ago with the Big Bang. As a consequence of a harmonic evolution of the Universe, we appeared in this tiny blue planet around a common star that we call the Sun. Human civilization appeared and grew with the natural curiosity, with an instinct to find out its place in the Universe. This search conduces us to discover our own world, to discover that everything around has a direct or indirect influence and meaning with our live. That happened in many ancient cultures.

Different ancient cultures in the world associated the Sun, stars and fundamental elements of the nature as water, fire, air and earth with the origin of the Universe itself. Natural phenomena had a special meaning in their lives and in some animals they found a representation of their gods.

A very special civilization lived among a chain of mountains that now we call Andes. This Andean civilization, our Peruvian ancestors, could be able to observe a particular panorama with a clear sky full of stars and bright stripe with some dark zones, the Milky Way. For ancient Peruvians, agricultural activity and daily live were closely connected with natural phenomena. They could notice that the sunrise and sunset occurred at different places in the horizon and could elaborate their own calendar. They also could notice that all stars travel in circles in the sky everyday around a single point, the South Pole; and in this natural and powerful context they built their society developing the Andean culture and Andean worldview, which now remains strong through the time, despite the numerous social influences.

Andean people were the only one ancient civilization in the world that not only recognized “bright” constellations; they also recognized “dark” constellations in the night sky. Now we know that dark constellations are caused by the interstellar medium that fills the plane of our galaxy. They felt identified with their own world, that’s why the Milky Way for ancient Peruvians was called “Mayu”, which means sacred river, which according to the Andean worldview was the place of Wiracocha, the maker of the Universe. The “Yacana”, dark constellation which represents the Llama, is also recognize by our ancestors. The eyes of the “Yacana” were called “Llamac Ñawui” - the alpha and beta stars of the modern constellation of Centaur. According to the Andean worldview and myths, the Llama every night goes with their Llamac Uñac, small dark constellations - small llamas, to drink water from the “Yutu” or “bag of coal” according the modern astronomy which is a dark constellation near the bright constellation of the south Crux.

Another well-known group of ancient Peruvians is the Nazca culture, famous because of their great geoglyphs and figures of lines, geometrical objects and animals, made in the pampas of Jumanda in the desert of Nazca, called "Nazca Lines". They were well studied by Maria Reiche who could infer that the geometry of the lines had a close relationship with rise and set of some stars or astronomical objects, giving a conclusion that Nazca Lines could represent the largest and the biggest astronomical calendar of the world. Other researches indicate that these figures helped to recognize the solstices, which represented the best times of harvest and also could represent some bright and dark the constellations. But one of the most important discoveries that it is worth to mention is the close relation between these astronomical lines with their need to survive. Archaeologist have also found that some lines indicates places in the desert were underground water can be found.

Many ancient cities, across the Peruvian Andes were developing independently until the first half of the past millennium, when a group of people coming from the Titicaca Lake, the highest lake in the world, came to Cusco to found the most important and powerful civilization of the history in this part of the continent and to begin joining all those independent cities. The Inca Culture was a society which integrated the nature with humanity, work with service, work with fraternity life, making the difference to set the tone for considering Hanan Pacha (the sky in quechua) as a reflection of their daily lives and to identify the human being with their own environment. The Inca Culture used the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations as a legacy to integrate them into a new empire and culture. Its largest monument Machu Picchu, which was a temple full of astronomical observatories, and monuments dedicated to important dates in the sky. We can find in Machu Picchu for example, three windows that show the position of the sun on the solstices and equinoxes. The Chakana, a kind of crux that represents the Andean worldview, and associates also with the bright constellation of south crux, can also be found everywhere and appears completely with the help of its shadow at sunset y sunrise in the days of summer solstice.

In modern times many people have taught us that astronomy is the development of culture, knowledge and society. That we can see today. Ancient cultures in the world gave their legacy to future generations and the understanding of nature could have also a development of thousand of years. Thus Copernicus gave us the idea that the Sun is the centre of the Universe and not the earth, Galileo showed that there are more worlds besides our own, making us to notice in details to these other worlds with the invention of the first telescope, later with the invention of space telescopes, we have seen the diversity of the Universe, and now we are enjoying this impact on humanity. Now, there are currently global associations of professional and amateur astronomy; all united to develop and resolve the most profound questions that man has have for thousand of years. About our origin, about where to go, about what is going outside our planet in the space with constant in interaction with solar winds. What will really happen to human being in the future? Will we be disappeared by an asteroid or by our Sun? Are we alone in the Universe? Are there really other civilizations like us, maybe writing down these same words showing why we love astronomy and celebrating their intergalactic year of astronomy?

The same happened and happens in Peru, following the same passion as our ancestors looked at the skies, we now already have historically the first generation of professional astronomers trying to develop modern scientific astronomy in this developing country with the preservation of our cultural ancient astronomy, this is the creation of a new culture, a culture that highlights the aspects of our ancestors which has left us as heritage, which leads us to rediscover our place not only in the Universe and in our own historical and geographical space-time. Everything is connected, the heavens and the earth.

Everyone must feel identified with their ancestors, with their past, with their present and with their future. In addition, the pleasure to observe the skies and the natural attraction make ask myself what’s really up there? In this mysterious sky that dazzles us on a clear night with stories and myths told by our ancestors, and now uncovered by stories about modern astronomy to know our origins, where we came from and where we are going.

(pronto sera traducido)