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Astronomy is the science of studying the sky using telescopes and light collectors such as photographic plates or CCD detectors. However, people have always studied the sky and continue to study the sky without the aid of instruments this is the realm of cultural astronomy. This is the first scholarly collection of articles focused on the cultural astronomy of Africans. It weaves together astronomy, anthropology, and Africa. The volume includes African myths and legends about the sky, alignments to celestialbodies found at archaeological sites and at places of worship, rock art with celestial imagery, and scientific thinking revealed in local astronomy traditions including ethnomathematics and the creation of calendars. Authors include astronomers Kim Malville, Johnson Urama, and Thebe Medupe; archaeologist Felix Chami, and geographer Michael Bonine, and many new authors. As an emerging subfield of cultural astronomy, African cultural astronomy researchers are focused on training students specifically for doing research in Africa. The first part of the volume contains lessons and exercises to help the beginning student of African cultural astronomy. Included are exercises in archaeoastronomy, cultural anthropology, and naked-eye astronomy penned by authors who use these regularly use these methods for their research. This collection of lessons and research papers provides a foundation for the cultural astronomy researcher interested in doing work in Africa.

Full citation:

Chasing the shadow of the moon

Holbrook Jarita C.

1-19

The use of ethnographic methods in cultural astronomy research

Chukwuezi Barth

21-28

A brief outline on the geographical background of Africa

Eze Basil U.

29-38

The astronomical gnomon

McKim Malville J.

39-51

Naked-eye astronomy for cultural astronomers

Holbrook Jarita C.; Baleisis Audra

53-75

Leadership

Holbrook Shawna

77-82

Integrating African cultural astronomy into~the~classroom

Buxner Sanlyn; Holbrook Shawna

83-93

A contemporary approach to teaching eclipses

Slater Timothy F.

95-107

Teaching cultural astronomy

Campion Nick

109-119

Evidence of ancient African beliefs in celestial bodies

Chami Felix A.

121-130

Astronomy of Nabta playa

McKim Malville J.

131-143

Romans, astronomy and the Qibla

Bonine M. E.

145-178

The Timbuktu astronomy project

Thebe Medupe Rodney; Warner Brian; Jeppie Shamil; Sanogo Salikou; Maiga Mohammed; Maiga Ahmed; Dembele Mamadou; Diakite Drissa; Tembely Laya; Kanoute Mamadou; Traore Sibiri; Sodio Bernard; Hawkes Sharron

179-188

The cosmological vision of the Yoruba-idààcha of Benin republic (West Africa)

Dafon Sègla Aimé

189-207

The relationship between human destiny and the cosmic forces – a study of the igbo worldview

Chukwuezi Barth

209-215

Cultural astronomy in the lore and literature of Africa

Opata Damian. U.

217-229

Astronomy and culture in Nigeria

Urama Johnson

231-238

Participation and research of astronomers and astrophysicists of black African descent (1900–2005)

Oluseyi Hakeem M.; Urama Johnson

239-255