Our Sky, the Sky of Our Ancestors

When we talk about Astronomy, we normally do not take into account that we are

using a cultural specific way of understanding the sky. Astronomers, either professional, amateur

or just lovers of the sky nowadays tend to approach the sky from the point of view of modern

science. There, we approach the sky as something that needs to be explored, understood and

explained.

However, this vision was not always like that, or even in other cultures is/was completely dif-

ferent. For centuries, the human being has comprehended the sky, its changes and constancies,

as part of their world, as part of the environment, as part of their everyday life.

In this paper, I review a few of these dierent ways of approaching the sky in several cultures,

from the Near East to Rome or the Andes and how we can use them today for education,

outreach and heritage management.

Cultural Astronomy. Archaeoastronomy. Past Astronomies. Heritage. Astro-tourism. Petra. Rome. Peru.