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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2011
Abstract. After a discussion of the need for statistical methods in megalithic astronomy, the interpretation of statistical results is considered, and a simple method of performing a suitable statistical test is outlined. Statistical evidence is considered next, with particular regard to the extent and limitations of the role of selection effects in the work of the Thoms. Their most recent analysis of lunar lines is discussed. Some arguments of a practical nature then follow, and the paper ends with some briefer comments on the astronomical interpretation of megalithic art, dating, and the purpose and implications of megalithic astronomy.
INTRODUCTION
The present paper is a rewritten version of a review article (Heggie 1981b) which was designed as an introduction to problems of megalithic astronomy for participants at the conference in Oxford. However the resemblance is largely confined to the title and the structure. Its general purpose here is to provide a background for many of the other papers in the present volume, but the opportunity is also taken to argue the case for the use of a particular methodology in the examination of much of the evidence on megalithic astronomy, and to consider how it may be applied to one or two important bodies of data. Another purpose of this paper is to draw the attention of readers to a number of recent results which have a bearing on the subject and are perhaps not mentioned elsewhere in this volume.
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