Astronomy is often said to be one of the oldest sciences of
humanity. But this statement disregards the fact that the
word “science”, as it is understood today, can hardly be
used to describe the astronomical practices of, for
example, the builders of megaliths or the ancient
Egyptians. This type of astronomy, however, was always
“culture” as it was closely linked to both religious and
profane practices that led to better use of resources and
greater understanding of the cosmos. Cultural astronomy, in
its two branches of archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy,
studies these practices. Since these are disciplines that
lie somewhere between social sciences, especially
archaeology and anthropology from which they obtain their
epistemology, and classic astronomy, from which they obtain
their mathematical tools, it is not always easy to carry
out research in them. It is therefore often essential to
start out by distinguishing between fact and fiction.