Scientists find advanced geometry no secret to prehistoric architects in US Southwest

[Judi Lynn]

Scientists find advanced geometry no secret to prehistoric architects in US Southwest
January 23, 2017





A satellite photo of Pueblo Bonito archaeological site with illustrations demonstrating its geometrical properties. Credit: Dr. Sherry Towers



Imagine you are about to plan and construct a building that involves several complicated geometrical shapes, but you aren't allowed to write down any numbers or notes as you do it. For most of us, this would be impossible.

Yet, new research from Arizona State University has revealed that the ancient Southwestern Pueblo people, who had no written language or written number system, were able to do just that - and used these skills to build sophisticated architectural complexes.

Dr. Sherry Towers, a professor with the ASU Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center, uncovered these findings while spending several years studying the Sun Temple archaeological site in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, constructed around A.D. 1200.

"The site is known to have been an important focus of ceremony in the region for the ancestral Pueblo peoples, including solstice observations," Towers says. "My original interest in the site involved looking at whether it was used for observing stars as well."

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-01-scientists-advanced-geometry-secret-prehistoric.html#jCp

[Jim__]

1. I'd love to know how they did it.

I doubt it was with just a stick and a piece of chord.

[Javaman]

2. with no way to write or record, their memories must have been amazing.

I once met a guy who couldn't read or write. but what struck me about him was his amazing memory. And his ability to calculate numbers in his head.