Neolithic pottery reveals China's ancient stargazers

 

Neolithic painted pottery from the Dahe Village, in the suburb of Zhengzhou, 
capital of central China's Henan Province [Credit: Cultural China]

 

Their feet were firmly on the earth, but their hearts and minds were in the stars. That's the conclusion of archaeologist after studying common household utensils used by Chinese about 5,000 years ago.

Experts at a museum in the Central Henan province have been sorting through pottery pieces decorated with drawings of the sun, the moon, constellations, solar halos and even comets.

The relics date from the New Stone Age and were found at Dahe Village, in the suburb of Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, which is known for the oracle bones discovered in the late 19th century.

"They are the earliest physical evidence of astronomy ever discovered in China, and we believe more will be uncovered here," said Hu Jizhong, curator of the Dahe Village Relics Museum. [...] The Archaeology News Network 

 

 

Link 2: Astronomía en las cerámicas neolíticas chinas

Habitantes de época neolítica de la provincia central china de Henan observaban con detalle los cielos y plasmaban sus conocimientos astronómicos en sus cerámicas. Hace 5.000 años, su preocupación por los ciclos de la agricultura y por sus cosechas, les llevaron a estudiar los fenómenos astronómicos para tratar de predecir posibles efectos sobre ellas. Asíidentificaron diferentes ciclos, constelaciones e incluuso cometas que ahora nos asombran desde sus objetos más cotidianos...