天文学的历史几乎和人类的文明史一样渊远流长。远古时期,当人类从野蛮跨入古代文明时,由于原始农牧业的需要,天文学便应运而生了。萌芽时期的天文学不可避免地是与神灵崇拜密切相关的,主持祭祖仪式的“祭司”被认为是与神灵相通的,他们实际上也是最早的天文学家。 The history of astronomy is almost as old as the history of human civilization. In ancient times, when humans entered the ancient civilization from the barbarism, astronomy came into being due to the needs of the primitive agriculture and animal husbandry. The budding astronomy is inevitably closely related to the worship of gods. The “priests” who presided over the ancestral rituals are considered to be connected with the gods. They are actually the earliest astronomers.