Contechnology Quickie Thread

[StrangerCoug]

This thread is open for anyone to ask questions about how their concultures should go about using and developing their technology, be it science, engineering, magic, what have you.

Here's the first question. It's long-winded for what I personally consider a "quickie", but I've tried my best to explain:

My conreligion's followers up until now have been following a purely observational lunisolar calendar. Now the religious authorities have become interested in astronomy because they want to refine their estimate of the synodic month and predict with high accuracy how long a given month will be, when the solstices and equinoxes will be, and by extension exactly when to insert leap months in the hopes of introducing a good rule-based calendar. They have only a weak understanding of trigonometry as we on Earth in the 21st century know it, but their geometrical knowledge is similar to that of the ancient Greeks. The main differences are that they can only approximate the area of a circle with inscribed and circumscribed polygons and that they went about a different way as regards proving the volume of a square pyramid (based on the fact that a cube can be cut equally into six such pyramids, though you can't slice completely through to do it). Where would a good starting point for their astronomical research be given this knowledge and their goal?

[Pedant]

Okay, this isn't strictly related, but mind if I use your idea to create a new thread to inspire people to make up new technology?

Also, realistically speaking the group of people reforming your calendrical system may not need to do very much--just keep an eye on how much time passes between one solstice and the next, and one equinox and the next, and until the entire sequence of constellations lines up, and the relative lengths of the month (down to more accurate numbers based on where the moon appears in the night sky). You don't necessarily need geometry or trigonometry for this (although you would be advised to invest in mathematics a bit in order to work out lenses for more accurate star readings). Just have them correlate the dates manually, and using the data compiled work out something akin to Earth's Metonic Cycle.

[StrangerCoug]

Okay, this isn't strictly related, but mind if I use your idea to create a new thread to inspire people to make up new technology?

I have no problem