The sun’s position as it becomes visible as a bright red-orange ball on clear mornings changes every day. I can tell because, over the past few months, at sunrise I have had to move from the spot where I work at my computer to avoid being blinded by the light. Within the last couple of weeks, I’ve been forced to pull the shades around 7:15 a.m., instead, because I cannot avoid the brilliant light just by shifting my position. Knowing what I’ve come to know through routine observation, I can plan bits of my day.
I mention this because I think I know understand how ancient people came to understand, far better than I, that the positions of celestial bodies coincided with changes in their routines.