About this Course

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Archaeoastronomy is the “science of stars and stones”.  It is an interdisciplinary science in between architecture, archaeology, and astronomy. It studies the relationships between the ancient monuments and the sky, in order to gain a better understanding of the ideas of the architects of the past and of their religious and symbolic world. The course provides the first complete, easy introduction to this fascinating discipline.
During the course, many spectacular ancient sites of archaeology – such as Stonehenge in England, Giza and Karnak in Egypt, Chichen Itzá in the Yucatan, Macchu Picchu in Peru and the Pantheon in Rome – will be visited and the fascinating events occurring there in special days of the year (such as solstices, equinoxes, or the day of the foundation of Rome) will be shown and explained. The course also provides the necessary background on Astronomy with the naked eye and a general introduction to the role of Astronomy in religion and in the management of power among ancient cultures.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 7 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 7 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.58/5 (353 Ratings)

Giulio Magli

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(5,833 ratings)

Week

1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Week 1

1 hour to complete

5 videos (Total 25 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week

2

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Week 2

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 24 min)

Week

3

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Week 3

1 hour to complete

5 videos (Total 30 min)

Week

4

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Week 4

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 28 min)

Week

5

Week 5

24 minutes to complete

Week 5

24 minutes to complete

4 videos (Total 24 min)

Week

6

Week 6

1 hour to complete

Week 6

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 19 min)

Week

7

Week 7

3 hours to complete

Astronomy insights

Archaeoastronomy is not only "speaking about the Sun and the other stars". Interest in the cumbersome, apparent motion of the Moon and in the alternating behaviour of Venus as morning star/evening star is also present in ancient architecture, for instance in the Americas. This section provides the tools needed to investigate in such cases, as well as insights on the physical effects affecting measures in Archaeoastronomy.

3 hours to complete

1 video (Total 6 min), 18 readings, 1 quiz

1 video

Conclusions and perspectives5m

18 readings

Lunar phases10m

The eclipses10m

The change in the rising and setting points of the Moon10m

The Moon in Archaeoastronomy10m

Bibliography10m

The planets visible with the naked eye10m

The Motion of Venus10m

Venus in Archaeoastronomy10m

Bibliography10m

The Earth's atmosphere10m

Extincion and Thom's law10m

Refraction and parallax10m

Visual alignments10m

The horizon formula10m

Graphical tools10m

Handling archaeoastronomical data10m

The use of Probability in Archaeoastronomy10m

Bibliography10m

1 practice exercise

Astronomy insight15m

Reviews

4.5

396 reviews

5 stars
64.73%
4 stars
26.56%
3 stars
6.81%
2 stars
1.48%
1 star
0.39%

TOP REVIEWS FROM ARCHAEOASTRONOMY

by MKApr 23, 2021

It's a wonderful experience to learn this course from this university . Great information and Knowledge i have gained from this ! thank you coursera politecco di milano . :)

by DENov 9, 2017

It was a very interesting course, and had addressed the subject matter in an organized manner. It was challenging at times, but maintained my interest throughout the course.

by IKOct 15, 2020

The overall course was good but I personally found the last test difficult. I had to read for the test from other websites as I found the readings provided in week 7 insufficient for the test.

by MKJan 12, 2019

Excellent Course Outline and easy to understand content, Prof. Giulio Magli has done an excellent job to make that all information understandable to the students. Regards!

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy

About this Course