Norman Lockyer y los controvertidos inicios de la arqueoastronomía

Beatrice H. Steele

doi:10.24215/26840162e023

Autores/as

Beatrice H. Steele University of Exeter, Estados Unidos

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24215/26840162e023

Palabras clave:

Norman Lockyer, arqueoastronomía, Edfu, Stonehenge, Boscawen-Un, Avebury

Resumen

Hace tiempo que se reconoce que Norman Lockyer desempeñó un papel fundamental en la fundación de la arqueoastronomía a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX. Su interés por lo que entonces se denominaba «orientación» floreció en una visita a Egipto, donde se convenció de que podían utilizarse métodos científicos rigurosos para demostrar las teorías arqueológicas relativas a las religiones antiguas.
Sin embargo, a pesar de la perspectiva de que un intelectual de renombre entrara en el escaso discurso en torno a la arqueoastronomía, poco ocurrió para promover la disciplina después de la expedición egipcia.
Aunque Lockyer se presenta a menudo como una figura solitaria que trabajaba en los albores de este campo, las diapositivas de linterna mágica recientemente digitalizadas de los archivos del Observatorio Norman Lockyer revelan sus amplias interacciones con una dedicada red de investigadores arqueoastronómicos británicos. El trabajo de Lockyer, junto con el de su nueva comunidad, llegó en un momento muy desafortunado. Este artículo
trata de explicar por qué su trabajo arqueoastronómico no fue bien recibido por arqueólogos prominentes, y por qué el discurso en torno a la arqueoastronomía hasta su época sofocó los intentos de Lockyer de legitimar la orientación.

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