Archeoastronomy is the study of how ancient civilizations understood celestial phenomena. They integrated this understanding into cultural and religious frameworks. Some famous archeoastronomy sites are in the Egyptian pyramids and on Easter island. Mythological texts, ritual calendars, and religious ceremonies synchronized with planetary movements. Some examples are the Sun Temple in Mesa Verde, and the complexes at Chaco Canyon near Aztec, New Mexico.
The Sun Temple, preserved at Mesa Verde National Park is a symmetrically planned "D" shaped building that was never completed. Its size shows that a lot of labor went into constructing it. Even the stones in the walls were carefully shaped and given a “dimpled” surface by the builders. Based upon the amount of fallen stone removed during excavation, the walls were between 11 and 14 feet high. The thick walls were double coursed then filled with a rubble core. It is thought the Sun Temple was used for marking astronomical events, like the winter solstice.
At another sight in Chaco Canyon, there are carved petroglyphs and painted pictographs to depict the cycle of the sun, moon, and stars; equinoxes and solstices; and to document celestial events. Changes in celestial relationships between the sun, moon, and stars were linked to important cultural events and their associated ceremonies around the seasonal cycles to help signal the best planting and harvesting times. Communities would often orient settlements, buildings, and architectural features to mark astronomical time and events.
One of the most fascinating categories of archeoastronomy is possible evidence of a supernova. The Nebra Disk, found in Northern Germany, and made during the Bronze Age, is one of the oldest depictions of the cosmos yet known from anywhere in the world. The theory is that the ancient people who made the disk did have an astronomical phenomenon to describe and, by portraying it, worship it for ages to come. The singular phenomenon is a Supernova explosion (symbolized by the large golden disk) in the region of the sky around the Pleiades Star Cluster in the Taurus and Auriga Constellation. That area of the sky sits in a regularly active region for star formation in our Galaxy and therefore in an area where several Supernovae events have occurred historically.
Archeoastronomy reveals the deep connections between ancient civilizations and the cosmos, showing how early peoples interpreted celestial phenomena not only as a means of tracking time and guiding agriculture, but also as a center of their spiritual and cultural lives. By integrating astronomy into their architecture, rituals, and mythology, ancient societies left behind enduring legacies that continue to inform and inspire our understanding of both history and the universe.