Consensus
- Mesopotamians used astronomy for farming, planting and planning out the calendar
- Advised the king that their observations affected the calendar and could effect the future and events
How they studied
- Mathematics and scientific process
- Clay tablets to record observations
- Babylonians were only aware of things visible to the naked eye
Discoveries and Contributions
- Written language cuneiform script, one of the reasons why we know so much about their sophisticated astronomy
- Developed a method for calculating the length of the Venus cycle
- Able to predict lunar eclipses
- Invention of the degree system to distinguish positions in the sky
Mesopotamia
- 3500-5000 B.C.
- Located between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
- First settlement of human civilization
Sources
Role of Astronomy in Culture
- Sumeria, Located in Mesopotamia, has some of the oldest records of astronomy in history
- Birthplace of civilization almost 10,000 years ago
- 2000-3000 BC Mesopotamian groups created a zodiac (Leo, Taurus, Scorpius, Auriga, Capricorn, Gemini & Sagittarius)
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- www.explorable.com
- www.starteachastronomy.com/mesopotamian.html
- www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/01documents/Mesopotamian_Astronomy
- www.mesopotamia.co.uk/astronomer/home_set
- www.carnaval.com/sun/Zodiac_wheel.gif
History of Astronomy: Mesopotamia
By: CyAnn Brown & Paige Ogle