Hi Rhross,

I was being a bit facetious :)

Clearly, any understanding of the heavens has always been limited by the technology of observation, the technology of learning, used. So the scope of learning massively expanded from reliance on mainly one's eyesight, once telescopes were made and put together by lens-grinders: technology generally may (or may not) thereby aids the technology of observation, the technology of testing, the technology of learning, and so the development of science.

But with only one's eyes, memory and instruction by the older people, learning about the heavens was more limited than it would be if people had telescopes, which in turn was more limited than it could be if people were using the present arrays of giant telescopes, etc., etc., triangulated with satellites in deep space.

And it's the same with all sciences - current technology can design and construct all manner of equipment which enables far more analysis in every field than could be done with, say, medieval technology which, in turn, could make discoveries impossible to, say, the Romans, and so on back to the understandings of our Stone Age ancestors. Science CAN advance, so our level of knowledge CAN advance, and we CAN get closer to the 'objective truth'.

Joe

"Abstract: Wurdi Youang is an egg-shaped Aboriginal stone arrangement in Victoria, Australia. Here we present a new survey of the site, and show that its major axis is aligned within a few degrees of east-west. We confirm a previous hypothesis that it contains alignments to the position on the horizon of the setting sun at the equinox and the solstices, and show that two independent sets of indicators are aligned in these directions. We show that these alignments are unlikely to have arisen by chance, and instead the builders of this stone arrangement appear to have deliberately aligned the site on astronomically significant positions.
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/Ray.Norris/papers/n258.pdf

Hi Joe, historically interesting and I dare say correct, what is contained in the Communist Party article of Friday 25th 1931. Even the despised Communists of 1931 did at times "tell it like it is". Is there assertions in the article that you believe were untrue in 1931?

No half measures from the Commos in those days, to quote; "setting up organisations of crawlers and kidnappers, known as"Aborigines Protection Boards"" That's one way at looking at things, would you agree?

BTW You seem to think I am a Communist, I am not literally a Communist, but like Jesus in essence I suppose I am. Are you?

Steele,

Yep, just like every other human group in the world.

Have you ever thought, in the depths of Winter, when will it start getting warmer ? And vice versa in Summer ? And how to tell when it's about to happen ?

Do you think that people near the Equator haven't puzzled about why the sun is to the north for part of the year, and to the south another part of the year ? And when is it directly overhead ?

Take your time, think about it.

Paul,

My parents were: hence, I'm named after Uncle Joe. I flipped from pro-Russia to pro-China in about 1962, and abandoned it all in about 1984, more or less (it's a long process). My mum lived with the son of the CPA boss, J.B. Miles, for a year or so, she said. Her father was a Wobbly, but joined up during WW I as an ambulance-man, in the evacuation at Gallipoli, and in Palestine, where his commanding officer was Banjo Paterson. I think they'd met many years before in central Queensland.

Now it's your turn . :)

Joe

@Loudmouth,

sorry I missed the irony. The medium is cryptic.

However, I do not agree re: telescopes. The Sumerians managed to map, chart and seek to explain the heavens long before telescopes, as did the ancient Egyptians and in very sophisticated ways.

@SteeleRedux,

Since all stone-age peoples appear to have gained some comprehension of east, west, south, north, and spent quite a bit of time star-gazing, just what point do you seek to make since any appearance of this from ancient Aboriginal cultures is hardly unusual.

Indeed, they may well have picked up such knowledge on their journey south from Africa. Travelling through Egypt perhaps, where the didgeridoo and boomerang, are also found in ancient carvings.