Study of the role of astronomical alignments in shaping the built environment suggests that centuries before establishment of the Empire in 221 BCE, the Chinese had already developed practical, geometrical applications of astronomical knowledge useful in orienting high-value structures. The archaeological record clearly shows this fundamental disposition was already firmly established by the formative period of Chinese civilization in the early 2nd millennium BCE. The cosmological identification of the imperial center with the celestial Pole and an intense focus on the circumpolar ‘skyscape’ are manifested in the highly symbolic orientation of early imperial capitals. Certain features of this cosmological world-view may have emerged as early as the Neolithic.

Preliminary investigations at two archaeological sites in south-eastern Nigeria are presented. These sites are the ancient stone circle in Ikom and the crescent shape of an ancient iron slag heap at Lejja, Nsukka. Here, we discuss the celestial alignments of these objects, and other traditional rites in this part of Nigeria, that seem to suggest some possible astronomical connections.

Maya inscriptions contain numerous examples of long intervals of time that count both backward and forward from a fixed point of historical reference to specific mythological dates, often thousands of years in the past or future. This paper considers the evidence that these intervals incorporated precise calculations of both the sidereal year and the tropical year. Furthermore, it outlines a specific methodology for assessing the likelihood that these distance numbers were either intentionally calculated to incorporate these astronomical measurements, or if these results are merely coincidental.

The purpose of this invited commentary is to present some general closing remarks on the global content of the ‘Oxford IX’ International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy, taking into account how we evaluate the course archaeoastronomy has taken over the past few years. It is significant that the interdisciplinary field of archaeoastronomy has already, by common consent, changed its name into ‘astronomy in culture’ (or ‘cultural astronomy’). This happened several years ago, although it is still the case that the cultural aspect (cosmovision, or vision of the world) is not always taken sufficiently into account. The keynote presentations by Ruggles, Iwaniszewski and McCluskey addressed fundamental issues of method and theoretical concepts that should guide archaeoastronomical studies. The rest of the sessions as well as the posters were dedicated to case studies from different cultural regions of the world. This commentary synthesizes several common themes that were addressed in the many interesting papers from all over the world that were presented in the meeting. Finally I take up the proposition of Gary Urton that future efforts should be concentrated on the study of the production and maintenance of systems of knowledge in complex state societies as well as in more egalitarian rural communities. In my opinion it is an urgent task to begin discourse about the history of pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, a discipline of which the history of science and astronomy forms a fundamental part. The ‘Oxford’ International Conferences are a key forum for exchange and encounter regarding comparative studies with other ancient civilizations as well as indigenous traditions from all over the world.

In 2007 a group was formed to study ‘Archaeoastronomy of Malargüe’. Its main objective is to contribute to the understanding of rock art records from the study of their variability, in order to understand their functionality in the context of regional archaeological problems. The research is addressed using an interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological model, focusing on the characteristics of the site and location of the engravings, their relationship with the landscape, and the identification of possible representations of astronomical objects. In this paper, we discuss some of the theoretical and methodological tools we have used for the fieldwork and analysis, using as our case study work at the rock art sites of Agua Botada, Valle Hermoso, and Los Toscales del Payén in the south of Mendoza, Argentina.

Legacy documentation, the accumulated historical knowledge about an archaeological site, must be reviewed in order to locate data on the condition of archaeological features and architecture proposed to be related to astronomical observances. This type of documentation can be located in museums, research libraries, colleges or universities, national public institutions and increasingly in digitized collections available on the internet. Locating and using legacy documentation is more than a simple review of literature. It is an integral part of the process of architectural documentation. The method of architectural documentation involves detailed site proveniencing, obtaining summary data for study units, and detailed descriptions of feature conditions (Nordby et al. 2002). Case studies present the impact of legacy documentation when evaluating the original condition of astronomically associated architecture or features.

The way in which Japan adopted methods and practices related to celebrations of seasonally based holidays and festivals provides an interesting study in how one culture may incorporate and modify the astronomically related practices of another. This article explores this process by looking at: (1) astronomical bases of seasonal celebration in Japan, (2) Japanese values and adaptations of imported icons and practices, (3) changes in celebratory practice due to adoption of ‘Western’ methods, and (4) observation in modern Japan.

In this paper, we present a study about cultural astronomy among European colonists who settled in the northern area of the Argentinean province of Santa Fe, which is part of the southern Chaco. These colonists arrived among waves of immigration occurring in Argentina in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Ethnographic field research among these rural immigrants and their descendants revealed that a set of asterisms were distributed according to the origins of the different European communities and also according to their uses in agriculture, animal husbandry and meteorology.

The notion that December 21, 2012 will bring physical catastrophes, a transformation of consciousness, or even a New Age is an unanticipated and unintentional consequence of early speculation by credentialed academic experts. It has grown as a result of its subsequent interpretation through the lens of speculative, counterculture metaphysics by individuals with both academic and non-academic backgrounds. This article provides a historical review of the most significant contributions to the emergence of the 2012 phenomenon.

Three architectural traditions with astronomical associations have been identified among the ‘Great Houses’ and ‘Great Kivas’ of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Great Houses and one Great Kiva built during the height of construction activity (AD 1020–1100), the Bonito Phase, include front-facing south-southeast (SSE) orientations, and cardinal north-south and/or east-west (NS/EW) alignments. We present ethnographic material supporting our previous proposal that the SSE orientation is probably linked to migration traditions and ancestor veneration. We also confirm that a majority of Late Bonito Phase Great Houses (built after A.D. 1100) exhibit a third astronomical tradition: five of the principal in-canyon Great Houses built at that time were positioned at or near observing locations that could have functioned as solstice calendrical stations. Through use of these locations for public ceremonies, the Chacoan elite could demonstrate astronomical knowledge and ritual power. These findings provide support for Van Dyke's hypothesis that construction during this period was intended to reinvigorate a faltering system. One ‘Chaco halo’ Great House, Bis sa'ani, incorporates all three traditions. We suggest that temporal analysis of these traditions improves understanding of migration paths and shifting balances of power and social dominance among ancestral Pueblo culture groups.

The Maya 2012 prophecy foretells events that will occur at the close of the current Maya ‘era’ and at the end of the 13th BˈAKTUN period of the Maya calendar. This paper explores the mythic and astronomical events that occurred previously at the start of the Maya era in 3114 BC corresponding to the close of the first 13-BˈAKTUN period. These two 13-BˈAKTUN Period Endings, separated by a span of approximately 5125 years, are like two bookends on a single shelf that inextricably link ancient Maya conceptions of time, mythic history and prophecy. The following presentation will demonstrate how in this case, the past is very much prologue. Mythic events and godly actions recorded at the beginning of the era directly parallel those actions that will occur at the end of the era. In addition, new insights will be shared into how ancient Maya scribes linked Era Day events to temple dedications and architecture to reflect the sun's daily solar trek—a journey charted and revered by ancient peoples from all corners of the Americas.

Seen from the ‘ushnu’ platform in the palatial complex of Pueblo Viejo–Pucará, near Pachacamac, built by the Huarochirí people, the visual axis extends southwards towards two circular structures of the summit temple. Of these structures rising up from a monumental platform, one contains a sacred rock to which gold, silver and Spondylus princeps. were offered and the other housed a huanca-idol. These structures, and the ushnu, marked points and directions that are relevant for the organization of sacred geography, but whose location does not correspond to orientations that are astronomically relevant for calendrical calculations, contrary to the initial hypothesis.

During the next decade the IAU intends to mobilize talented astronomers, engineers and teachers around the world, in the service of developing countries. I shall review the content of the IAU Strategic Plan 2010 - 2020 “Astronomy for the Developing World” and give you an update on its implementation. Astronomy is a unique tool for stimulating capacity building because it combines cutting-edge technology with fundamental science and has deep cultural roots. The plan envisages a substantial increase in IAU education and development activities during the next decade. These activities will be bottom-up, with a strong regional influence. An integrated approach tailored to the conditions and needs of each country will involve a mix of education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and public outreach. As a crucial component of the strategy, the IAU together with the South African National Research Foundation will set up a small office to coordinate and plan the various global activities at the SAAO in Cape Town.

We have studied the star formation vs. environment connection of local LIRGs by characterising their environment using number densities of galaxies as well as halo masses. It is found that LIRGs preferentially live in group environments and that they also exhibit a relation where their star formation rate increases with their environmental density.

We have carried out a detailed analysis of stellar properties of bars and bulges of a sample of early-type galaxies. We have also compared the results of the bulge properties with the bulges of a similar sample of unbarred galaxies, deriving the SSP equivalent stellar parameters in the same way as for our sample. We are currently characterising the nebular gas in the bulges of the sample galaxies. We have found differences in the bulge stellar population properties between barred and unbarred galaxies. The bulges of barred galaxies seem to be more metal rich, at a given velocity dispersion (σ), than the bulges of unbarred galaxies, as measured by some metallicity sensitive indices. There are indications that the ratio of relative abundance of alpha-elements with respect to iron, [E/Fe], derived for the bulges of barred galaxies tend to lie above the values of the unbarred galaxies at a given σ. We also find three different types of bars according to their metallicity and age distribution along the radius: 1) Bars with negative metallicity gradients. They show mean young/intermediate population (<2 Gyr), and have amongst the lowest stellar maximum central velocity dispersion of the sample. 2) Bars with null metallicity gradients. These galaxies that do not show any gradient in their metallicity distribution along the bar and have negative age gradients (i.e younger populations at the bar end). 3) Bars with positive metallicity gradients, i.e. more metal rich at the bar ends. These galaxies are predominantly those with higher velocity dispersion and older mean population. We find no significant correlation between the age and metallicity distribution, and bar/galaxy parameters such as the AGN presence, size or the bar strength. From the kinematics, we find that all the galaxies show a disk–like central component. Regarding the ionised gas properties, we find that the nebular metallicity gradients are shallower than the stellar ones, indicating an efficient mixing of the material currently forming. The nebular central metallicities do not show a correlation with the central σ, and, furthermore, in some cases the nebular metallicities are clearly lower than the stellar ones, indicating an external origin for the gas fueling the current star formation. All these results point to a scenario, at least for early-type galaxies, where bars are long-lived and where the formation of the bulge and the bar are closely linked. Later accretion of gas can then be funneled towards the center forming nuclear discs and rings, producing substructures with low level of star formation, but that would not contain enough stars to produce a change in the SSP-equivalent metallicities and [E/Fe].

We present results from the Herschel and IRAM projects to map M33 in the dust continuum and main emission lines, particularly C[II] and CO. The temperature of the cool dust decreases with distance from the center of M33 from ~25K to ~13K. The CO emission generally follows the dust temperature and the overall dust emission. However, about 1/6 of the molecular clouds are not associated with massive stars, such that about 1/6th the lifetime of an entity identifiable as a molecular cloud is in a pre-star formation state. These clouds are less CO-bright than those with massive stars. The largest sample of molecular clouds currently available for an external galaxy shows that the cloud CO luminosity function, usually viewed as the cloud H2 mass, steepens with radius such that smaller clouds are more numerous in the outer parts. The observations of the C[II] line with Herschel indicate that the C[II] emission traces on-going star formation rather than the neutral gas. This identification will be tested via velocity-resolved Herschel/HIFI C[II] spectra in the near future.

A survey has been conducted of Local Group galaxies with the Japanese/South African Infrared Survey Facility at SAAO, Sutherland. A number of Mira variables have been discovered in four dwarf spheroidals, which provides an opportunity to test the usefulness of these stars as distance indicators in galaxies beyond the Magellanic Clouds. These Miras are found to follow the same period-luminosity relation as in the LMC, provided bolometric magnitudes are used.