Aveni, Anthony 1938–

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Aveni, Anthony 1938–

(Anthony Francis Aveni)

Personal

Born March 5, 1938, in New Haven, CT; son of Anthony M. (a restaurateur) and Frances Aveni; married Lorraine Reiner (an artist), September 5, 1959; children: Patricia, Anthony F., Jr. Education: Boston University, A.B., 1960; University of Arizona, Ph.D., 1963.

Addresses

Home—Hamilton, NY. Agent—Faith Hamlin, Sanford J. Greenburger, 55 5th Ave., New York, NY 10003. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, instructor in astronomy, 1963-65, assistant professor, 1965-69, associate professor, 1969-75, head of department, 1971-73, professor of astronomy, 1975-81, professor of astronomy and anthropology, 1981-82, C.A. Dana professor of astronomy and anthropology, 1982-88, Russell B. Colgate professor of astronomy and anthropology, 1987—. Visiting professor and acting director of observatory at University of South Florida, 1973-74; visiting scholar, University of Padua, 1985, 1989; resident scholar, Centro Internazionale A. Beltrame di Storio dello Spazio et Tempo, Padua, 1985. Conducted field studies in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru; organized international gatherings of scientists; lecturer on astronomy-related subjects for Learning Channel. Appeared on National Public Radio (NPR), Cable News Network (CNN), and television programs Larry King Show, Today Show, and Unsolved Mysteries.

Member

American Astronomical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of University Professors, New York Academy of Sciences, Astronomical Society of New York State, Explorers Club.

Awards, Honors

National Science Foundation grants, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973-75, 1975-76, 1977-78; Sigma Xi grant, 1971, to Mexico; OSCO Foundation grants, 1973, 1977; Educational Expeditions International grants to Latin America, 1976, 1977; American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow, 1980; National Professor of the Year award, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, 1982; Distinguished Teaching Award, Phi Eta Sigma National Honors Society, 1990; Colgate Alumni Award for excellence in teaching, 1997; National Geographic Society grants; H.B. Nicholson Award for Excellence in Mesoamerican Studies, Peabody Museum/Moses Mesoamerican Archive of Harvard University, 2004.

Writings

NONFICTION

(With A.B. Meinel and M.W. Stockton) Catalog of Emission Lines in Astrophysical Objects, University of Arizona Press (Tucson, AZ), 1968.

(With B.A. Collea) A Selected Bibliography on Native American Astronomy, Colgate University (Hamilton, NY), 1978.

(Author of introduction) Travis Hudson and Ernest Underhay, Crystals in the Sky: An Intellectual Odyssey Involving Chumash Astronomy, Cosmology, and Rock Art, Ballena (Socorro, NM), 1978.

Sky Watchers of Ancient America, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 1979.

Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 1980, revised as Skywatchers, 2001.

Maya City Planning and the Calendar, American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia, PA), 1986.

Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks, and Cultures, Basic Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Conversing with the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos, Times Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Ancient Astronomers (for young adults), Smithsonian Books (Washington, DC), 1993.

Behind the Crystal Ball: Magic, Science, and the Occult from Antiquity through the New Age, Times Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures, John Wiley (New York, NY), 1997.

Between the Lines: The Mystery of the Giant Ground Drawings of Ancient Nasca, Peru, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 2000.

Nasca: Eighth Wonder of the World?, British Museum (London, England), 2000.

The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2003.

The First Americans: The Story of Where They Came from and Who They Became (for children), illustrated by S.D. Nelson, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2005.

Uncommon Sense: Understanding Nature's Truths across Time, University Press of Colorado (Boulder, CO), 2006.

Contributor to In Search of Ancient Astronomies, edited by Edwin Krupp, Doubleday, 1978. Also contributor of numerous research publications to periodicals including Science, American Scientist, Sciences, American Antiquity, and other anthropology, archaeology, and scientific journals.

EDITOR

(And contributor) Archaeoastronomy in Pre-Columbian America, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 1975.

(And contributor) Native American Astronomy, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 1977.

Archaeoastronomy in the New World: American Primitive Astronomy (conference proceedings), Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1982.

(With Gary Urton) Ethnoastronomy and Archaeoastronomy in the American Tropics, New York Academy of Sciences (New York, NY), 1982.

New Directions in American Archaeoastronomy (conference proceedings), B.A.R. (Oxford, England), 1988.

World Archaeoastronomy (conference proceedings), Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1989.

The Lines of Nazca, American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia, PA), 1990.

The Sky in Mayan Literature, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Gabrielle Vail) The Madrid Codex: New Approaches to Understanding an Ancient Maya Manuscript, University Press of Colorado (Boulder, CO), 2004.

Sidelights

Anthony Aveni, a professor of astronomy and anthropology, is considered one of the leading experts on archaeoastronomy, a field of scientific study that examines the sky's influence on the thoughts, beliefs, and understanding of the universe among ancient culture. He combines astronomy, anthropology, sociology, history, and theology in numerous books, among them Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures, and Behind the Crystal Ball: Magic, Science, and the Occult from Antiquity through the New Age. Turning to a younger audience, Ancient Astronomers is geared for teen readers and presents a discussion of mankind's eternal fascination with the heavens. Older elementary-grade readers are Aveni's intended audience in The First Americans: The Story of Where They Came from and Who They Became, which focuses on the Iroquois, Tinglit, Anasazi, and four other ancient cultures. According to Aveni's hypothesis, these seven peoples all had roots in a migration from Asia to North America

along the land bridge known as Beringia, which some scientists have postulated extended from Siberia to Alaska over 20,000 years ago. In School Library Journal Nancy Palmer praised The First Americans as an "intriguing account" that benefits from Aveni's "style and enthusiasm."

"When writing I try to fuse my traditional background and training in the field of astronomy with a knowledge of ancient native American cultures acquired since I began climbing the fence between physical science and cultural anthropology," Aveni once noted. "By perching on the fencepost between these two disparate fields, perhaps one can see a wider horizon." The many ancient cultures Aveni has studied include the Maya, the Nasca of Peru, the Stonehenge builders, and the Greeks and Romans. In addition to researching ancient manuscripts and other scholarship, he has also traveled around the globe, and his expeditions and field trips have often let him to archaeological ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru.

Aveni's book Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico is considered a foundational work in the field of archaeoastronomy. Gordon Brotherston, writing in Isis, remarked that here the author has "gathered between two covers the main advances in Western understanding of Mesoamerican accounts of the sky." In 2001, the book was revised and updated as Skywatchers. In five chapters, Aveni explains how experts study archaeoastronomy and take into account historical records including Mexican documents, calendar systems, and observations about the sky. Brotherston praised Aveni for his "excellent, clear, and professional writing" and his ability to "engage the reader directly," concluding that Skywatchers "is readable and very well informed and will constantly serve anyone at all concerned with that subject."

In Conversing with the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos Aveni explores how ancient astronomers related the movement of planets and stars in the sky to changes on Earth. He discusses how these observations influenced, among other things, crop-planting cycles and goddess stories from the Mayans, Babylonians, and others. The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays explores the origins of holiday traditions such as the Easter bunny and shows the relationship between many holidays and celestial events such as a solstice or equinox, while Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks, and Cultures focuses on man's effort to measure Earth's changes. Aveni tracks the history of science through its magical elements—alchemy, astrology, numerology (the study of the significance of numbers), UFO sightings, alien abductions, and near-death experiences—in Behind the Crystal Ball and turns to the heavens as seen and interpreted by the Mayas, the Incas, and the builders of Stonehenge in Stairways to the Stars. In addition to the ancient Mayan cult of Venus, this work focuses on the Peruvian city of Cuzco, built by the Incas as an enormous observatory, and England's Stonehenge. Aveni supplements his history with a chapter on skywatching, teaching readers to look at the sky in the same manner as did ancient cultures. He expands his focus on Peru in Between the Lines: The Mystery of the Giant Ground Drawings of Ancient Nasca, Peru, which focuses on the giant earth drawings that cover the plateau region near the city of Nasca. In addition to presenting the history of the famous Nasca (or Nazca) lines, including some interesting ideas as to why the lines were created (from roads to alien landing maps), Aveni also gives readers background on ancient Andean culture. In Booklist, Gilbert Taylor called Behind the Crystal Ball "engaging," while a Publishers Weekly critic described it as a "delightful little book" that provides "entertaining glimpses into the cultural evolution of holidays, and explores our human desire to make time work in our favor." Astronomy contributor Carol Ryback noted that Between the Lines "takes a common-sense look at these giant drawings … and sheds light on an ancient mystery," and Patricia Monaghan wrote in her Booklist review of the book that "Aveni tells an altogether gripping story that is rather like a mystery novel."

Aveni told SATA: "I am never more excited than when I take my students to the ancient ruins left behind by the first Americans. Whether we walk on the back of an earth serpent in Ohio, stand on the edge of the mesa in Chaco Canyon, climb the steps to the top of Monks Mound, or enter the tomb of a Maya king in the rain forests of Central America—nothing can surpass the experience of seeing things for ourselves. I remember our first visit to Palenque, the ancient Maya ruins buried in the jungle of southeastern Mexico, to see the tomb of the ruler Pacal. We climbed down sixty slimy steps accessed from a trapdoor at the top of a pyramid. Then we entered the chamber of a dead king that had been sealed for more than a thousand years. There he lay, jade face mask intact, showered with obsidian and shell jewelry—unmoved since his subjects first laid him there. What an important person he must have been in his day!

"In our field studies, my students and I measure and map ruins with surveying equipment. We're especially interested in the way ancient astronomers and architects aligned their pyramids with celestial bodies that represented the gods they worshiped. I study fragments of ancient documents to decipher the numbers, words, and pictures that tell why they aligned buildings and temples as they did.

"Though I originally studied astronomy, my interest in people later made me into an anthropologist as well. I try to reflect my combined interest in what I write. In Empires of Time I explore why clocks and calendars were invented. Conversing with the Planets explores what the universe means to us and what it means to us and what it meant to our ancestors. Stairways to the Stars is about archaeoastronomy, the study of how people in different cultures acquired knowledge from the sky. Ancient Astronomers is an easily readable book for teens that tells why people all over the world—from China to Polynesia to ancient America—have been fascinated by the sky and how their knowledge of the constellation patterns and the movements of the planets changed their cultures. In Behind the Crystal Ball I take readers on a tour through time and space as I try to unveil the many ways people have used magic over the millennia in hopes of improving their lives.

"Studying cultures other than our own is a lot like looking in a mirror. Learning about them is a great way to learn about ourselves."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

American Antiquity, January, 1982, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 238; January, 1989, Wendy Ashmore, review of Maya City Planning and the Calendar, p. 219; July, 1990, Sylvia Meluzin, review of New Directions in American Archaeoastronomy, p. 643.

Antiquity, June, 1991, Timothy Taylor, review of The Lines of Nazca, p. 407; March, 2001, David Browne, review of Between the Lines: The Mystery of the Giant Ground Drawings of Ancient Nasca, Peru, p. 223; December, 2001, N. James and Simon Stoddart, review of Skywatchers, p. 886.

Archaeology, March, 1982, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 82; November, 2001, review of Skywatchers, p. 57.

Astronomy, March, 1982, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 76; November, 1993, review of Conversing with the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos, p. 108, review of The Sky in Mayan Literature, p. 108; October, 1997, review of Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures, p. 104; March, 2001, Carol Ryback, review of Between the Lines, p. 96.

Booklist, October 1, 1989, review of Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks, and Cultures, p. 247; September 15, 1992, Virginia Dwyer, review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 103; August, 1996, Gilbert Taylor, review of Behind the Crystal Ball: Magic, Science, and the Occult from Antiquity through the New Age, p. 1858, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 1890; June 1, 2000, Patricia Monaghan, review of Between the Lines, p. 1840.

Choice, May, 1981, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 1286; September, 1981, review of Archaeoastronomy in Pre-Columbian America, p. 40, review of Native American Astronomy, p. 81; July, 1990, review of Empires of Time, p. 1841; October, 1992, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 253; March, 1993, A.R. Upgren, Jr., review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 1178; October, 1997, V.V. Raman, review of Stairways to the Stars, p. 316; May, 2001, J.B. Richardson, III, review of Between the Lines, p. 1663.

Hispanic American Historical Review, May, 1982, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 275; February, 1994, Michael Edmondson, review of The Sky in Mayan Literature, p. 127.

Isis, June, 1991, Olaf Pedersen, review of Empires of Time, p. 346; March, 1997, Steven J. Dick, review of Ancient Astronomers, p. 131; December, 1999, review of Stairways to the Stars, p. 797; December, 2002, Gordon Brotherston, review of Skywatchers, p. 679.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1989, review of Empires of Time, p. 1209; July 1, 1992, review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 819; June 15, 1996, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 867; November 15, 2002, review of The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays, p. 1665.

Library Journal, September 15, 1989, Jack W. Weigel, review of Empires of Time, p. 132; November 1, 1992, Jack W. Weigel, review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 94; August, 1996, James Olson, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 106; May 15, 1997, Gloria Maxwell, review of Stairways to the Stars, p. 97.

Nature, December 21, 1989, Owen Gingerich, review of Empires of Time, p. 871; January 30, 1997, Martin Gardner, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 405.

New Scientist, November 16, 1996, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 45; January 25, 1998, review of Stairways to the Stars, p. 44.

New Statesman and Society, August 10, 1990, Jenny Diski, review of Empires of Time, p. 37.

New York Times, July 7, 1981, Richard Severo, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 15; March 25, 1986, William Stockton, "Ancient Astronomy Points to New Views on Mayan Life," p. 15.

New York Times Book Review, December 13, 1992, Marcia Bartusiak, review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 11; November 17, 1996, Ed Regis, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 32.

Publishers Weekly, August 4, 1989, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Empires of Time, p. 78; July 13, 1992, review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 40; July 1, 1996, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 52; November 25, 2002, review of The Book of the Year, p. 61.

School Library Journal, April, 2006, Nancy Palmer, review of The First Americans: The Story of Where They Came from and Who They Became, p. 150.

Science Books and Films, November, 1981, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 72; May, 1990, review of Empires of Time, p. 243; January, 1998, review of Stairways to the Stars, p. 14; December, 1998, review of Stairways to the Stars, p. 264.

Scientific American, October, 1981, Philip Morrison, review of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico, p. 42; August, 1993, Philip Morrison, review of Conversing with the Planets, p. 127.

Science News, July 15, 2006, review of Uncommon Sense: Understanding Nature's Truths across Time and Culture, p. 47.

Times Literary Supplement, August 23, 1991, John D. North, review of Empires of Time, p. 24; December 27, 1996, Keith R. Hutchinson, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 30.

Village Voice Literary Supplement, November, 1989, review of Empires of Time, p. 5.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1998, review of Behind the Crystal Ball, p. 251; February, 2006, review of The First Americans, p. 507.

Washington Post Book World, July 16, 1995, review of Empires of Time, p. 12.