Fraser, S. Marguerite., Ruggles, C., Yorston, R., Cowley, D. C., Murray, H., Murray, C., Ramsey, E., Gaffney, C. F., Gaffney, V. L., Fitch, S., Baldwin, E. E., Sparrow, T. T., Hopla, E., Bates, R., Ch'ng, E., McMillan, A. and Howard, A. (2013). Time and a Place: A luni-solar 'time-reckoner' from 8th millennium BC Scotland. Internet Archaeology 34. Vol 34, https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.34.1.

Title The title of the publication or report Title:	Time and a Place: A luni-solar 'time-reckoner' from 8th millennium BC Scotland
Issue The name of the volume or issue Issue:	Internet Archaeology 34
Series The series the publication or report is included in Series:	Internet Archaeology
Volume Volume number and part Volume:	34
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Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. Licence Type:	Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International Licence
Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book Publication Type:	Journal
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report Abstract:	The capacity to conceptualise and measure time is amongst the most important achievements of human societies, and the issue of when time was 'created' by humankind is critical in understanding how society has developed. A pit alignment, recently excavated in Aberdeenshire (Scotland), provides an intriguing contribution to this debate. This structure, dated to the 8th millennium BC, has been re-analysed and appears to possess basic calendrical functions. The site may therefore provide the earliest evidence currently available for 'time reckoning' as the pit group appears to mimic the phases of the Moon and is structured to track lunar months. It also aligns on the south east horizon and a prominent topographic point associated with sunrise on the midwinter solstice. In doing so the monument anticipates problems associated with simple lunar calendars by providing an annual astronomic correction in order to maintain the link between the passage of time indicated by the Moon, the asynchronous solar year, and the associated seasons. The evidence suggests that hunter-gatherer societies in Scotland had both the need and ability to track time across the year, and also perhaps within the month, and that this occurred at a period nearly five thousand years before the first formal calendars were created in Mesopotamia.
Author The authors of this publication or report Author:	Shannon Marguerite Fraser Clive Ruggles Ron Yorston David C Cowley Hilary Murray Charles Murray Eleanor Ramsey Christopher F Gaffney Vincent L Gaffney Simon Fitch Eamonn E Baldwin Tom T Sparrow Emma-J Hopla R Bates Eugene Ch'ng Anneley McMillan Andy Howard
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published Year of Publication:	2013
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. Locations:	District: Aberdeenshire Country: Scotland
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. Subjects / Periods:	MESOLITHIC (ENG) PIT GROUP (Monument Type Scotland) CALENDAR (Object England)
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. Source:	ADS Library (ADS Library)
Relations Other resources which are relevant to this publication or report Relations:	DOI: https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.34.1
Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered Created Date:	26 Mar 2019