The first period in the history of astronomy got its start there are dozens or even hundreds of thousands

of years. Astronomy, along with arithmetic, is perhaps the oldest in all areas of knowledge. Somehow linked to astronomy, we also find, in all ages, and no matter what region of the Earth, or what level of development of civilization, man's concern with regard to its origins and its final destination. "Where do we come?" And "Where are we going?" Cosmological concerns are always dominated and still dominate human thought. From Prehistory to the observation of the sky must have troubled the human spirit on the one hand, the revelation of the existence of immutable natural laws, on the other, the temptation to put in the sky all powerful supernatural beings. We realized at that time, the origin of the first astral myths and cults, which played an important role in many primitive religions. By observing the world, the man believed he could explain it as a result of the activity of spirits motivated by emotions similar to those of humans. He lived to a time when the universe was completely anthropomorphic - the Age of Magic. It is the season of good spirits, but also the demonic, which was attributed to the shape of animals and plants, and had the power to rule the world. All that was observed could be explained simply by the will and the actions of these spirits. Initially, the man had no activity, beyond those that were related to their own survival. Long before he put certain questions about the observed phenomena, or even try to find explanations for the warrants, primitive man would seek only to survive in a hostile environment that surrounded him. but since the early attention has been drawn to various astronomical phenomena, and the most striking have been, of course, the succession of days and nights. In very primitive times, in its early nomadic man had not yet invented agriculture, and had not yet learned to tame animals.Survival was difficult, almost an heroic act. Born will thus the need of counting time, ie the construction of calendars allowing to anticipate the occurrence of certain events essential for their survival, for example migration of certain animals, or for certain fruit ripening . Long before we invented writing, the man learned to know the phases of the moon, found the regular succession of the seasons, became aware of the apparent diurnal motion of the stars that night after night brought them back, and, realizing that kept their relative positions, "invented" the constellations, real references that allowed him to orient himself.

Astronomy comes with learning this kind of knowledge, simple but essential. The activities necessary for the survival of the species are therefore at the origin of the first things directly related to astronomy, which, therefore, is closely related to the evolution of man from earliest times. About a dozen of thousands of years ago in an attempt to best ensure their survival, Man operates a fundamental transformation, leaving the nomadic way of life, that it has adopted for hundreds of thousands of years, and become sedentary. Simultaneously, this transformation also has important consequences for the evolution of astronomy. In fact, fixing a particular region makes it easy to record systematic observations, as well as their preservation for future reference and analysis, which is an essential factor for the development and sophistication of the earliest calendars. These records are perhaps the oldest form of writing that we can imagine, and the strong connection that all the civilizations that developed from that time, had resulted primarily with astronomy that need "vital" that consisted of the continuous improvement of the schedule. It should be noted here the fact that after a certain time, beyond survival issues, astrological motivations exist simultaneously and / or religious to observe the sky. Astronomy, astrology and religion, will have been jointly developed since then, and most often being the first to "service" of the other two. Later Season of Magic will eventually give rise to the Age of Mythology. The spirits that were omnipresent and omnipotent, "became" in gods who personified abstractions of thought. The man then acquired awareness of his smallness before the world, but, paradoxically, believe it plays a major role in the universal stage. We live in a time when the universe is entirely anthropocentric, in which the various mythologies can now be interpreted as pre-scientific cosmological models. Indeed, the mythology is no more than the figurative expression of certain cosmologies, especially those developed using complex networks of myths, which then filled the imagination of everyone.These models may represent the first attempts to explain the universe through a systematic use of reasoning. We can cite, for example, mythologies created by major civilizations such as Mayan or Egyptian, Jewish or Greek, and more to the east, those built by Babylonian civilization, the Indian or Chinese. In fact, all models are the most primitive known, that man has built to explain the universe.