Academics

Anthony F. Aveni  helped develop the field of archaeoastronomy and now is considered one of the founders of Mesoamerican archaeoastronomy, in particular for his research in the astronomical history of the Maya Indians of ancient Mexico.

He is a lecturer, speaker, and editor/author of more than two dozen books on ancient astronomy. For his personal webpage, click here. 

Title
Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology and Native American Studies

Degree
BA Boston University 1960; PhD University of Arizona 1965

Teaching Experience
University of South Florida; University of Colorado; University of Padua (Italy)

Specialities
Astronomy, Mesoamerican archaeoastronomy, history of science

Interests
Astronomy of ancient cultures of the Americas, isolated star clusters / frequent research trips to Mexico, Central and South America

Publications

•  People and the Sky: Our Ancestors and the Cosmos (Thames & Hudson, 2008)

• Foundations of New World Cultural Astronomy: A Reader With Commentary, Editor. (University Press of Colorado, 2008)

•  The First Americans: Where They Came From and Who They Became (Scholastic, 2005)

•  The Madrid Codex: New Approaches to Understanding an Ancient Maya Manuscript, edited with Gabrielle Vail, (University Press of Colorado 2004

•  The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford University Press, 2002)

•  Stairways to the Stars (Wiley, 1997)

• Behind the Crystal Ball (Times, 1996)

•  Conversing With the Planets (Times, Random House, 1992)

•  Ancient Astronomers (Smithsonian, 1992)

•  The Lines of Nazca, ed. (American Philosophical Society, 1990)

•  Empires of Time (Basic Books, 1989)

• World Archaeoastronomy, ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1988)

•  Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico (University of Texas Press, 1980), (Translations in German, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Portugese)

•  Numerous edited volumes; articles: "Somebody Else's Cosmology" in Mysteries of Life in the Universe (Harcourt Brace, 1992); "Mystery on the Desert: The Lines of Nazca" in Mysteries of Mankind (National Geographic Society, 1992); "Moctezuma's Sky: Aztec Astronomy and Ritual" in Moctezuma's Mexico: Visions of the Aztec World (University Press of Colorado, 1992)

•  Numerous articles, reviews and commentaries in Science, American Scientist, American Antiquity, Monographs of the American Philosophical Society, Archaeology, Sky & Telescope

Distinctions
Grants include those from NSF, Sigma Xi, the OSCO Fund, Earthwatch (Educational Expeditions International), and the National Geographic Society; Visiting Scholar, University of Padua 1985, 1989 and Resident Scholar, Centro Internazionale A. Beltrame di Storio dello Spazio & Tempo, Padua 1985; National Professor of the Year 1982, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science elected 1980

Board Membership
Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard; Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project, Princeton