Reading the Skies: The Origin and Development of Astronomy in Ancient Mesopotamia

July 10, 2024 via Zoom

Reading the Skies: The Origin and Development of Astronomy in Ancient Mesopotamia

Gil Breger (University of California at Berkeley)

The earliest records of a systematic inquiry into the skies hail from ancient Mesopotamia. From as early as the 2nd millennium BCE and continuing all the way to the beginning of the Common Era, scribes writing in cuneiform script on clay tablets produced texts describing eclipse patterns, lunar phases, planetary motion, and more.

While many texts are couched in a divinatory framework, others demonstrate an empirical attitude. During its two-millennia-long existence, astronomy in ancient Mesopotamia took on many faces, with older forms of astronomy co-existing alongside newer, arguably contradictory (from a modern perspective) forms of astronomy.

In this lecture, we will trace the origin of astronomy and explore its development in ancient Mesopotamia. We will examine the various roles it played in ancient society and its legacy in Greek and later astronomical traditions

For questions or to request accommodations contact:

Donald Kane