The SKA project: A model for dialogue between historical astronomical archives, local memory and modern science

Humans have been observing the sky for thousands of years. Our ancestors were undoubtedly fascinated by it, but observing the heavens also had practical uses: It helped people measure time, both over the course of the day and through the changing seasons, and became especially important with the spread of agriculture. What is now seen as scientific frontiers, such as cosmology and astrophysics, are in fact only the latest chapter in an evolving history of observing and interpreting the sky.