The International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture (ISAAC) Oxford X conference came to Africa for the first time in 2014. Oxford X exposed South African students and researchers to cultural astronomy data collection and analysis methods, as well as to potential mentors to further the goal of advancing the field. Cultural Astronomy studies in South Africa, however, remain in a nascent stage, which in some ways can be said for the entire field, but especially when it comes to studies of Africa. An overview of the debates within the field of cultural astronomy since the 1980s is presented along with ideas for advancing cultural astronomy in South Africa.

This State of the Profession White Paper from the American Astronomical Society’s Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) details HAD’s efforts to advance academic research in topics relating to the historical nature of astronomy, including the application of historical records to modern astrophysical problems, now and over the next decade.