Pásztor Emília (szerk.): A fény régészete. A természetes fény szerepe az őskori ember életében - Bajai dolgozatok 20. (Baja, 2017)
Bevezetés
Bevezetés/lntroduction auxiliary sciences. It focuses on how primary light sources such as the sun, the moon and the stars affected the creation and development of civilisation. The field was born thanks to the common misconception around Western European megaliths (enormous stone structures), especially Stonehenge, which builders were believed to have high levels of astronomical knowledge (Hawkins 1965, Thom 1977 and many others). The basic method of archaeoastronomy is the study of orientation which not only provided information about sacred structures and graves, but also told about the belief of builders of common houses (Pásztor 2005). Stone circles, stone rows, and even megalithic tombs and dolmens were certainly sacred places where the Sun and the Moon might also have played important roles in the ceremonies. Stonehenge's connection with the Sun and/ or the Moon is a much debated issue even today among scientists and the general public (Sims 2006, Parker Pearson 2012, 2013 and many others). Most of the time, as later church architecture confirms as well, the real target of building orientation was not the source of light, but rather where the sun light would reach the dark depths of the building creating a radiant, seemingly supernatural, view/atmosphere for the faithful from the sky. Thus, the intention of Stonehenge builders' was to make the rising rays of the summer solstice sun visible inside the stone circle (Pásztor 2011). The Irish Newgranse, a Neolithic tomb aislea, is another great example of making rays of a certain (special) time period visible inside a dark sacred area (O'Kelly 1982). Perhaps both endeavours also served the ancestors' cult since some 60 cremation graves were found in the area of Stonehenge during the 1920s (Parker Pearson - Ramilisonina 1998, Parker Pearson 2013). It is often assumed, as an explanation for the orientation of graves, that the deceased was laid facing the rising or setting sun. However, studies of the orientation of Carpathian Bronze Age graves indicate there is no point talking about general orientation principles since significant differences in orientation practice can be found in every graveyard. Each archaeological culture has to be examined separately since even within one culture different graveyards can have different orientations (Pásztor 2008). Apart from orientations, illustrations on objects and rock drawings can also contain information to use while studying the effect of natural light or its source on prehistoric societies. However, 17
