Book
When stars came down to earth: cosmology of the Skidi Pawnee Indians of North America
Ballena Press ; Center for Archaeoastronomy, University of Maryland • (26) • Published In 1982 • Pages: 270
By: Chamberlain, Von Del.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of Pawnee ethnoastronomy. The work attempts to describe the objects and phenomena of the sky as they were perceived by the Skidi (Skiri) Pawnee, and the effect that they had on religious beliefs and practices. In general the book attempts to consolidate materials written about Pawnee ethnoastronomy scattered through various sources , many of which were written around the beginning of the twentieth century. Other ethnographic topics deal with native concepts relating to sky phenomena, an annotated list of sky objects referred to in the records, the Skidi earth lodge as a model of Pawnee cosmology, the Skidi observational system, and the unique star chart inscribed on buckskin used by the Pawnee over the ages in their study of the heavens.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Dwellings
- Mythology
- Sacred objects and places
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Organized ceremonial
- Ethnometeorology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Pawnee
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Plains and Plateau
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Astronomer
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1997
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- ca. 1800-1915
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Skidi (Skiri), Chawi (Chaui), Kitkahahki, and Pitahawirata bands; northern Kansas and Nebraska, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Von Del Chamberlain
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-261) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 82016390
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Pawnee Indians