BRADFORD SCHOLARS

    • Sign in
    View Item 
    •   Bradford Scholars
    • Life Sciences
    • Life Sciences Publications
    • View Item
    •   Bradford Scholars
    • Life Sciences
    • Life Sciences Publications
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Bradford ScholarsCommunitiesAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication Date

    My Account

    Sign in

    HELP

    Bradford Scholars FAQsCopyright Fact SheetPolicies Fact SheetDeposit Terms and ConditionsDigital Preservation Policy

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Time and a Place: A luni-solar 'time-reckoner' from 8th millennium BC Scotland

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Publication date
    2013-07
    Author
    Gaffney, Vincent L.
    Fitch, Simon
    Ramsey, E.
    Yorston, R.
    Ch'ng, E.
    Baldwin, E.
    Bates, R.
    Gaffney, Christopher F.
    Ruggles, C.
    Sparrow, Thomas
    McMillan, A.
    Cowley, D.
    Fraser, S.
    Murray, C.
    Murray, H.
    Hopla, E.
    Howard, A.
    Show allShow less
    Keyword
    Pit alignment; Mesolithic; Scotland; Calendar; Lunar calendar; Time; Seasons
    Peer-Reviewed
    yes
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Visualisation of the midwinter solstice viewed from the Warren Field pit group The capacity to conceptualise and measure time is amongst the most important achievements of human societies, and the issue of when time was 'created' by humankind is critical in understanding how society has developed. A pit alignment, recently excavated in Aberdeenshire (Scotland), provides an intriguing contribution to this debate. This structure, dated to the 8th millennium BC, has been re-analysed and appears to possess basic calendrical functions. The site may therefore provide the earliest evidence currently available for 'time reckoning' as the pit group appears to mimic the phases of the Moon and is structured to track lunar months. It also aligns on the south east horizon and a prominent topographic point associated with sunrise on the midwinter solstice. In doing so the monument anticipates problems associated with simple lunar calendars by providing an annual astronomic correction in order to maintain the link between the passage of time indicated by the Moon, the asynchronous solar year, and the associated seasons. The evidence suggests that hunter-gatherer societies in Scotland had both the need and ability to track time across the year, and also perhaps within the month, and that this occurred at a period nearly five thousand years before the first formal calendars were created in Mesopotamia.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10454/15546
    Version
    No full-text in the repository
    Citation
    Gaffney V, Fitch S, Ramsey E, et al (2013) Time and a Place: A luni-solar 'time-reckoner' from 8th millennium BC Scotland. Internet Archaeology 34. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.34.1
    Link to publisher’s version
    https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.34.1
    Type
    Article
    Notes
    Internet Archaeology is an Open Access journal.
    Collections
    Life Sciences Publications

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.