Computational archaeologists have utilized high-resolution astronomical simulations to date specific ritual descriptions found in the Shatapatha Brahmana. The study reveals that the text’s mentions of the Krittika (Pleiades) cluster never swerving from the eastern point align perfectly with the sky as seen from the Indian subcontinent in approximately 2300 BCE.
This research provides significant evidence for the deep antiquity of Vedic observational astronomy, suggesting that the foundational layers of the text preserve accurate data from a period much earlier than previously estimated. The study further identifies that the observers used sophisticated horizon-based techniques to track the precessional drift of major star clusters with remarkable consistency over several centuries.