Abstract
THE astronomical science of the ancient Babylonians and their pupils, the Assyrians, was neither so profound nor so contemptible as has often been maintained. Now that we are able to read the native records written in the cuneiform or wedge-shaped character, we find that the progress made at a very early period in mapping out the sky, in compiling a calendar, and above all in observing the phenomena of the heavens, was really wonderful, considering the scanty means they possessed of effecting it. Certainly their astronomy was mixed up with all kinds of astrological absurdities, but this did not prevent them from being persistent and keen observers, whose energy in the cause of knowledge is not undeserving of imitation even in the present day.
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SAYCE, A. The Astronomy of the Babylonians . Nature 12, 489–491 (1875). https://doi.org/10.1038/012489a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/012489a0