Spatial Modeling of the Folk Astronomical Knowledge among the Residents of Tajikistan

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Abstract

The term “folk astronomical knowledge” refers to a set of practical knowledge that allows a person to navigate in space and time. An important point is the possibility of a total assessment of this knowledge not only at the level of an individual, but also at the level of a separate settlement or region. The authors developed a method for determining an indicator characterizing the level of folk astronomical knowledge, based on field materials collected in the Republic of Tajikistan in 2019–2023. The method was verified on a large sample (177 people were surveyed). The average values of the “coefficient of knowledge” (k) made it possible to assess the process of knowledge loss among informants of four age groups, as well as to compile maps reflecting the preservation of folk astronomical knowledge in the studied territories. The analysis of the maps makes it possible to propose a model describing the observed prevalence of this knowledge. Its maximum level is recorded along the Pamir Tract, in the zone of active information exchange, and the minimum is in isolated valleys. Based on the proposed model, high-quality predictions were made about the level of popular astronomical knowledge in areas that have not yet been surveyed.

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About the authors

Nadezhda A. Dubova

Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: dubova_n@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4340-1037

д. и. н., главный научный сотрудник

Russian Federation, 32-a Leninsky prospect, Moscow, 119991

Michail G. Nikiforov

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Moscow State Linguistic University”

Email: followup@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3106-5854
Russian Federation, 38 Ostozhenka St., Moscow, 119034

References

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2. Fig. 1. Areas of distribution of information concerning the visibility of stars – according to M.S. Andreev (Darvaz) (Andreev 1958) and M.R. Rakhimov (villages of the Sagyrdasht group) (Rakhimov 1957a, 1957b). The map was compiled by M.G. Nikiforov using the program “Archaeologist’s Sputnik”

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3. Fig. 2. Dependence of the amount of knowledge on age. Fig. M.G. Nikiforova

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4. Fig. 3. Estimation of the coefficient of astronomical knowledge for the studied territories (blue: 2 ≤ k < 3, green: 3 ≤ k < 4, yellow: 4 ≤ k < 5, orange: 4 ≤ k < 5, red: 5 ≤ k < 6). The map was compiled by M.G. Nikiforov using the program "Archaeologist's Satellite"

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