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arXiv:2101.09170physics.pop-ph

Why are there Seven Sisters?

Ray P. Norris, Barnaby R. M. Norris

Abstract

There are two puzzles surrounding the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. First, why are the mythological stories surrounding them, typically involving seven young girls being chased by a man associated with the constellation Orion, so similar in vastly separated cultures, such as the Australian Aboriginal cultures and Greek mythology? Second, why do most cultures call them "Seven Sisters" even though most people with good eyesight see only six stars? Here we show that both these puzzles may be explained by a combination of the great antiquity of the stories combined with the proper motion of the stars, and that these stories may predate the departure of most modern humans out of Africa around 100,000 BC.

arXiv comments
Accepted for publication in "Advancing Cultural Astronomy: Studies in Honour of Clive Ruggles", publ. Springer
Journal reference
DOI
doi:10.1007/978-3-030-64606-6_11
Subjects
physics.pop-phPopular Physics physics.hist-phHistory and Philosophy of Physics

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Linked by 2 identifiable commenters in 3 comments across 3 threads, from Mar 2022 to Dec 2023. Found in 1 HN submission from Jan 2025 to Jan 2025. Open submission discussions.

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Discussed in comments3 threads

  1. Constellations are younger than continents 1 comment

    • There is an interesting theory about the Pleiades star cluster [1]. The Pleiades are somewhat unique in that they are a prominent feature of the sky and close to the celestial equator. Because of that, they are visible to every population on Earth, and every culture has…

      antogniniView on HNParent context

  2. Supernova in 1006 1 comment

    • > but close enough that we could recognize. A fun thing about star movement is that you can only see six stars in the Pleiades, but there are seven there. There are I guess a bunch of myths about there being seven of something and then one of them getting chased away. A fun…

      1-moreView on HNParent context

  3. What did the ancient Babylonians discern in the skies above? 1 comment

    • Yeah, that's a great suggestion. I'm guessing I'll try to talk somewhat about preagricultural astronomy when I go over the astronomy of paleolithic peoples. But you're right that there's a lot we don't know, and even just talking about what we don't know would be interesting.…

      antogniniView on HNParent context

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