Editing Axial precession (section)

====Ancient Egyptians====
Similarly, it is claimed the precession of the equinoxes was known in [[Ancient Egypt]], prior to the time of Hipparchus (the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] period). These claims remain controversial. Ancient Egyptians kept accurate calendars and recorded dates on temple walls, so it would be a simple matter for them to plot the "rough" precession rate. 

The [[Dendera Zodiac]], a star-map inside [[Dendera Temple complex#Hathor temple|the Hathor temple at Dendera]], allegedly records the precession of the equinoxes.<ref>Tompkins, 1971</ref> In any case, if the ancient Egyptians knew of precession, their knowledge is not recorded as such in any of their surviving astronomical texts.

Michael Rice, a popular writer on Ancient Egypt, has written that Ancient Egyptians must have observed the precession,<ref>Rice, Michael. ''Egypt's Legacy'', p.&nbsp;128). "Whether or not the ancients knew of the mechanics of the Precession before its definition by Hipparchos the Bithynian, in the second century BC is uncertain, but as dedicated watchers of the night sky they could not fail to be aware of its effects."</ref> and suggested that this awareness had profound affects on their culture.<ref>Rice, p. 10 "...the Precession is fundamental to an understanding of what powered the development of Egypt"; p. 56 "...in a sense Egypt as a nation-state and the king of Egypt as a living god are the products of the realisation by the Egyptians of the astronomical changes effected by the immense apparent movement of the heavenly bodies which the Precession implies."</ref> Rice noted that Egyptians re-oriented temples in response to precession of associated stars.<ref>Rice, p.&nbsp;170
 "to alter the orientation of a temple when the star on whose position it had originally been set moved its position as a consequence of the Precession, something which seems to have happened several times during the New Kingdom."</ref>