Question

Which accomplishment of some early american civilizations shows that they had knowledge of astronomy

Answer 1

Meso-American civilizations in South and Central America demonstrated their knowledge of astronomy through their use of calendars, which relied on the solar system. They also developed sophisticated calendars based on a 365 day agricultural cycle.

Answer 2

Before European colonists arrived, numerous indigenous tribes inhabited America. They had different ways of interpreting their view of the sky. They learnt to pass on their knowledge of the stars through stories.

For example, the Pawnee Indians used a group of stars called "The Council of Chiefs" (the Corona Borealis), not only for spiritual purposes but also in order to set agricultural patterns.

A common sight around America are petroglyphs and pictographs, which they used to preserve. They also used to depict animals and astronomical events such as eclipses.