The Inkas (Quechua spelling) worshipped the Sun, and their emperor was thought to be the son of the Sun. They conquered most of the Andes and their former empire is replete with examples of their astronomy. They used solar positions on the horizon for calendrical purposes and managed their crops and religious festivals in this manner. Many examples remain of their intentional light and shadow effects that demonstrate their sophisticated understanding of the Sun's movement and of solar horizon events.

Evidence of their astronomy can only be fully understood in its cultural context, and that is the focus of this book. Inka Cosmovision explores the cosmic worldview of the Inkas from the perspective of oral traditions passed from one generation to the next among the Inkas' living descendants. You will learn about Inka astronomy in a way that you perhaps have never encountered. An author of the book is Quechua, a descendant of the Inkas, and what you will read benefits greatly not only from the field research of both authors, but from the many stories he learned from his parents and grandparents and from his Amauta, a highly respected Indigenous teacher of Inka culture. This book enlightens about Inka cosmovision as no other has before.

Autorentext

Steven Gullberg holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from James Cook University (Australia) and is a Professor of Cultural Astronomy at the University of Oklahoma (USA), where he is Lead Faculty for the School of Integrative and Cultural Studies. He also serves as President of Commission C5 Cultural Astronomy in the International Astronomical Union (IAU). He has conducted extensive field research on the astronomy of the Inkas in the Peruvian Andes and has written many research papers. He also is the author of Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky. At the University of Oklahoma, he led the development of an archaeoastronomy distance-learning program designed to educate researchers around the world. Dr. Gullberg is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Astronomy in Culture, and he as well is regularly invited to present papers at international conferences as he endeavors to globally advance the field of archaeoastronomy.

Milton Rojas Gamarra earned his PhD in Intercultural Education at the University of Santiago (Chile). His doctoral thesis was in archaeoastronomy and his Masters degree was in astrophysics. Milton is a Professor of Physics at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (Peru). Milton is a descendant of the original Quechua people and has dedicated himself to preserving their wisdom, their ethos, and their worldview. His first language is Quechua. Dr. Rojas Gamarra has studied the astronomy of the Inkas for more than 30 years and benefits greatly from the oral traditions that have been passed on to him by his grandparents and by his Amauta, Emilio Huaman Huillca.