Chevron Left
Back to Archaeoastronomy

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Archaeoastronomy by Politecnico di Milano

4.5
stars
1,341 ratings

About the Course

Archaeoastronomy is the “science of stars and stones”. It is an interdisciplinary science in between architecture, archaeology, and astronomy. It studies the relationships between the ancient monuments and the sky, in order to gain a better understanding of the ideas of the architects of the past and of their religious and symbolic world. The course provides the first complete, easy introduction to this fascinating discipline. During the course, many spectacular ancient sites of archaeology – such as Stonehenge in England, Giza and Karnak in Egypt, Chichen Itzá in the Yucatan, Macchu Picchu in Peru and the Pantheon in Rome – will be visited and the fascinating events occurring there in special days of the year (such as solstices, equinoxes, or the day of the foundation of Rome) will be shown and explained. The course also provides the necessary background on Astronomy with the naked eye and a general introduction to the role of Astronomy in religion and in the management of power among ancient cultures....

Top reviews

DG

Nov 27, 2021

I really enjoyed this archaeoastronomy course. Professor Magli demonstrated outstanding knowledge of the subject, and was so generous in sharing his expertise through videos of worldwide locations.

ID

Mar 2, 2019

Amazingly made MOOC. Perhaps it feels a bit short in comparison to some of the others, but the material is well presented and the suggested readings give plenty of opportunity for further learning.

Filter by:

26 - 50 of 415 Reviews for Archaeoastronomy

By Alexander P

Mar 5, 2017

An interesting course both from astronomical and architectural point of view. For me as an architect and amateur astronomer it was a pleasure watching the lectures in this course and learning some new interesting facts about ancient architects-astronomers.

By Chris R

Oct 10, 2019

I thoroughly enjoyed this course into a fascinating aspect of science and history. There were aspects that were challenging (Mathematics/Equations as well as the lecturers thick Italian accent), but overall, I found it to be eye-opening and rewarding.

By Zsuzsanna J

Jul 17, 2017

Gentile Professore! Grazie per il corso davvero interessantissimo di cui ho imparato tanto dell'argomento. Spero che continua a dare corsi sul sito di coursera che magari hanno anche il sottotitolo italiano. Grazie ancora e saluti dall'Ungheria.

By Manuel P G

Feb 1, 2018

The course is excellent and explanations of Giulio Magli are very clear and pedagogical.

The selected materials (photographs and drawings) are magnificent and help to understand and make content more enjoyable.

I hope a second advanced edition!!!

By Dante P

Sep 18, 2017

Awesome!!! Very very interesting course. A "relative" new SCIENCE. An interdisciplinary way to study the architecture and the mentality of ancient people, and not only from the antiquity but from the beginning of the human history...

By Peta O (

Apr 4, 2019

Was great, very enjoyable

a course on this topics subsection spanning a greater length of time would be also worth participating in if it is ever offered in the future.

Thank you again and it was a wonderfully presented course.

By Ana I P G

Apr 4, 2020

Un curso altamente interesante, bien fundamentado, de introducción pero con conceptos muy interesantes y bien comentados por el profesor Giulio Magli. Me ha resultado fascinante, fácil de entender y apasionante. Enhorabuena.

By Paola B d l R

Sep 17, 2017

Un curso excelente que he disfrutado muchísimo de principio a fin y que encarecidamente recomiendo. Muchísimas gracias Giulio Magli y al equipo que ha participado en la realización de este curso.

Un afectuoso saludo, Paola.

By Agrim G

Feb 1, 2020

My second course on Coursera related to Astronomy. Professor Guilio Magli excels at explaining each and every detail regarding Archaeoastronomy, ranging from Angkor Wat to Chichen Itza. Hope this helps me in the future.

By Ekain R

Apr 2, 2017

Increíble. Me ha parecido un Curso con un valor agregado impresionante. Es de los pocos cursos que he hecho que he terminado muy satisfecho por todo lo que he aprendido; tanto a nivel astronómico como a nivel cultural.

By José A C

Feb 29, 2020

Fue una experiencia muy grata, aprendí muchas cosas que desconocía, ahora puedo entender mas sobre las grandes cosas oculta que desconocemos acerca de algunos resto arqueológicos.

By Gonzalo V

Jan 30, 2021

Greatly enjoyed this course!! Living in México, a strongly archeastronomical country, it had a special appeal to me, and I was most definitely pleased with the course. Thanks!

By Thomas L

Apr 2, 2023

This was an interesting course taught by a well published and credentialed professor. However, the course seemed to lack focus towards the end. It shifted to the technical side of the topic, which should have been at the start with more time spent on understanding astronomical concepts. These concepts are the foundation of the practice. While examples are necessary to understand the practical application of these foundational tools, their relationship was disjointed. I felt I had to rely on my college astronomy courses as well as the professor's works on the subject. I'm looking forward to learning more about the subject in future classes.

By Willem

Dec 6, 2021

Course is fascinating and well-researched. The lecturer is clearly very well informed and loves his field. Interesting accent and very good presentation style. I would, personally, have loved to have substantial levels of mathematics introduced into the course. As it is, is very well-presented course, but does not answer to my original need, which is to do it myself. I need training in calculations, mathematical methods and night maps, in other words: Doing archeo-astronomy. Is there a course designed for enthusiasts and amateurs like myself?

By Christine F

Apr 22, 2023

I very much enjoyed the material. It was a fascinating introduction to astronomy and ancient temples across the world. Some of the quizzes were extremely difficult and didn't appear to follow the lessons. But thankfully you are able to take them more than once. I bought the textbook offered by the professor and look forward to learning more on this topic.

By Alexandra C Z G

Jun 24, 2020

La materia es interesante y los vídeos muy explicativos, sin embargo la última unidad es solo lectura y me hubiese gustado que siguiera la misma metodología de las anteriores.

By Olivia I

Dec 30, 2022

It was a complex and abstract course, though interesting.

By Sharon M

Jun 18, 2020

Interesting course but could do with much better explanation of astronomical information, as I found myself becoming lost with trying to work out some of the data regarding relative planetary positions during the tests. Also I found the point of view of the tutor very narrow minded, although this is expected of mainstream scholars who fail to accept the findings of alternative researchers - for example, no mention of the clear alignments of the Giza Pyramids to the stars of the constellation of Orion... he mentions that the pyramids were 'tombs'! though no Pharoah's remains were ever found in a pyramid - they were buried in the Valley of the Kings! Regarding the tutor's comment about Tihuanaco - the alignments match 15 millennia ago but 'what do you think is more likely...', a slight error from the builders of this magnificent construction or the errors of (mainstream) archaeologists - I go with with the errors of the (mainstream) archaeologists every time! I would very much like to hear the tutor's explanation of how the pyramids were built when modern technology is unable to replicate.

By Abhishek V

May 28, 2018

I was just looking to experiment and this seemed very interesting given the blend of architecture with astronomy. My sense of imagination with respect to the 3D is very poor and thus I didn't put enough effort in a few places. These were the very ideas which required effort and dedication to be put, for the other parts of the course are easy enough to understand. Overall it seems like a light course not requiring enough effort and often effort and your learning are linked together and you might leave the course not having learnt as much as you had hoped. The course and coursework should be made more rigorous to expose the students to the core ideas like visualising space, directions through other means ans thus you end up giving the students a way of thinking and looking at the world.

By Kathie H

Sep 30, 2022

Captured my imagination as an anthropology enthusiast but I found it difficult to follow the explanations of various astronomy concepts. Even with multiple viewings of the videos, note-taking on the video-text AND the pertinent chapters in Prof. Magli's book, as well as frustrating google searches for definitions and further explanations, I am still struggling with some of the basics. I still loved hearing/reading about all the wonderful places that have been mapped and explored, and I understand how much more ancient cultures knew about the movement of the sun, moon, stars and planets than I do...I wish there was a course that could help me get there from the point of view of a Neolithic or Mayan or Javanese person !

By Trish G

May 16, 2022

The weakness in this course is largely in Week 7. There is no way a non-mathemetician is going to understand the formulas that are cited there, nor their implications. It would have been helpful to give examples with accompanying diagrams of the kinds of questions given in the final test, i.e comparing azimuths of SU, VE, ME at solstices, etc. I have concerns that the last test was significantly and needlessly more challenging than the other tests. It had the feeling of a "bait and switch," or keeping one going until the end when success was less likely.

By Debora M

Nov 14, 2022

Difficult to understand the professor at times.

Questions on tests were more math related than discussion points.

By Mark E

Jan 30, 2022

Although the subject and professor are very interesting, he doesn't properly prepare the students for the exams. His lectures focus almost completely on the archaelogical concepts behind archaeoastronomy yet his exams focus almost entirely on the mathematical. Once the student gets to week 7, they are dumped a wide array of new mathematical concepts without much explanation and then the final exam occurs leaving the student unprepared.

My suggestion to future students would be to take this course if you're interested in astronomical concepts and mathematical calculations with relation to any type of landscape. On the other hand, if one is interested in the archaeological or anthropological viewpoint of why the various ancient cultures oriented their buildings, etc with regards to the planetary bodies, there is little new information here.

By Megan B

May 13, 2022

I really wanted to like this course, but I found the density of information overwhelming. The quizzes also were worded quite poorly and made it so that all of the richness you learned was lost to you remembering some specific number or feature rather than understanding the material fundamentally.

By Brian S

Sep 9, 2020

Can't understand prof. I want to Unenroll, but the function isn't working.