<P> The origins of Western astronomy can be found in Mesopotamia , and all Western efforts in the exact sciences are descendants in direct line from the work of the late Babylonian astronomers . Modern knowledge of Sumerian astronomy is indirect , via the earliest Babylonian star catalogues dating from about 1200 BC . The fact that many star names appear in Sumerian suggests a continuity reaching into the Early Bronze Age . </P>
how long ago were the ancient babylonians charting positions of the planets and stars
1200 BC