(1996). "Anomalous Textual Artifacts in Archeo-astronomy"
(1996). Anomalous Textual Artifacts in Archeo-Astronomy
Presented at the World Association of Vedic Studies (WAVES) Conference: "Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age and Ancient India," held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 4–6, 1996.
Thompson, Richard. "'Anomalous Textual Artifacts in Archeo-Astronomy," in Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age and Ancient India, edited by Bhu Dev Sharma and Nabarun Ghose, 317–334. Atlanta: World Association for Vedic Studies USA, 1998.
Ancient artifacts can survive within written texts, as well as within the strata of the earth. In this paper, two examples of anomalous textual artifacts are discussed. The first is a verse from the medieval Indian astronomy text Surya-siddhanta which seems to encode accurate values for the diameters of the planets. The second is a system of cosmic geography from the Bhagavata Purana which contains what seems to be a realistic map of planetary orbits in the solar system. We discuss these examples in relation to the controversial claim that there existed a premodern civilization with advanced astronomical knowledge.
Additonal Notes:
Thompson is also listed as a former member of the Board of Management and Officers of the World Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES).
For a list of conference abstracts, please click here.
The following pdf download offers text published in the 1998 conference proceedings.
