Anthony Aveni

Anthony Francis Aveni (born 1938) is an American academic anthropologist, astronomer, and author, noted in particular for his extensive publications and contributions to the fields of archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy. He is Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology and Native American Studies, Emeritus at Colgate University, and he is the author of more than 34 books and 300 research publications that include three cover articles in Science magazine.

Education Aveni earned his Bachelor of Arts from Boston University in 1960 and a PhD from the University of Arizona in 1965.

Career Aveni began teaching at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York in 1963. and he rose to the named chair of Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology and Native American Studies before retiring emeritus. He has specialized in the study of ancient astronomical practices in the Americas, and pioneered research into the historical astronomy of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures.

Aveni has authored more than 34 books and 300 research publications, including three cover articles in Science and works in American Scientist, American Antiquity, Latin American Antiquity, The Sciences, Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, and Journal of Archaeological Research. and Best American Science Writing 2002. He has been awarded research grants by the National Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation and various private foundations for work in both American continents as well as in Europe and the Middle East.

Personal life Aveni lives in Hamilton, New York, with his wife Lorraine, an artist.

Selected publications

Articles

Cover. Cover.

Books Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico (University of Texas Press, 1980) (translations in German, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese) World Archaeoastronomy (editor) (Cambridge University Press, 1988) Empires of Time (Basic Books, 1989) The Lines of Nazca (editor) (American Philosophical Society, 1990) Ancient Astronomers (Smithsonian, 1992) Conversing With the Planets (Times, Random House, 1992) Behind the Crystal Ball (Times, 1996) Stairways to the Stars (Wiley, 1997) Skywatchers : A Revised and Updated Version of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico (University of Texas Press, 2001) The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford University Press, 2002) The Madrid Codex: New Approaches to Understanding an Ancient Maya Manuscript (edited with Gabrielle Vail) (University Press of Colorado, 2004) Foundations of New World Cultural Astronomy (Scholastic, 2005) The First Americans: Where They Came From and Who They Became (Scholastic, 2005) 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) Buried Beneath Us: Discovering the Ancient Cities of the Americas (Roaring Brook Press, 2013) The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012 (University Press of Colorado, 2009)

Distinctions Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1980)