Prehistoric Avebury.

New Haven and London:: Yale University Press, 1979., 1979. FIRST EDITION. Tall 8vo. vii, (viii), 275 pp. Photos and illustrations (some in color), index. Brown cloth, gilt-stamped spine title, dust-jacket; jacket creased with small stain on front cover, else very good. Burndy Bookplate. ISBN: 0300023685 Burl, a British archaeologist best known for his studies into megalithic monuments, worked while considering the astronomical roles of many megalithic monuments, was cautious of embracing the more tenuous claims of archeoastronomy. In Prehistoric Avebury Burl proposed that Circles and Henge monuments, far from being astronomical observatories for a class of "astronomer priests" were more likely used for ritualistic practices, connected with death and fertility rites, and ancestor worship, similar to practices observed in other agricultural cultures (in particular the rituals of Native North American Tribes such as the Algonquin and the Pawnee). Rituals would have been performed at key times of the year, such as the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, to ensure a successful harvest from the land.