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‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

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Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#101

Post by washadjeffmad »

progre wrote: post #17
reducesuffering wrote: post #15

I'm surprised the article didn't mention one of the most popular names for the "Seven Sisters," Subaru, the Japanese name and vehicle manufacturer whose logo contains six of the stars.

Subaru does not translate to "seven sisters" (or even six sisters) so bringing up Subaru would undermine the claim of the article

No, but the radicals in 昴 (pleiades) are "sun", repeat, and "at same time".

So even if we're being very literal, "the one with the two stars at the same time" is an accurate description of both the hidden sister story and the cluster.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#102

Post by BurningFrog »

pferde wrote: post #60
mellosouls wrote: post #27

It's a nice theory but sometimes simpler, less glamorous solutions might hold the truth. There are more than 6 "sisters" visible with the naked eye, but most people normally can't see them. It's more believable to me that the "missing" 7th sister is just the brightest of the less visible ones. Those less visible would certainly have been used as a test of prowess for determining the keenest-eyed, especially among ear…

Agreed. When hiking in mountains, on some nights the sky is so clear, air so still and light pollution so low that I can easily discern eight or nine "sisters" there. Such nights are usually in summer, but less frequently also during other seasons. Of course, in or near large cities, seeing five or six of the "sisters" is about the best one can hope for.

Of course, until a few centuries ago, there was no light pollution at all, if you stepped away from the campfire.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#103

Post by lolinder »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #100
heikkilevanto wrote: post #42

Seven is a common story-telling number. Seven days in a week, sailing the seven seas, the seven wonders of the world, the seven continents, seven deadly sins, etc.

It would be pretty odd to add one they couldn’t see though, right?

Yes, but as has been noted multiple times in this thread, there are more than 6 visible stars in the cluster. They're just not visible at all times of year, and certainly impossible to see for most of us who live in/near cities.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#104

Post by 0_____0 »

credit_guy wrote: post #90
sradman wrote: post #58

The Pleiades[1], also known as the Seven Sisters: > It is among the star clusters nearest to Earth... and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Only six stars in the cluster are visible to the naked eye yet mythology from several ancient cultures share the idea that one of the seven “sisters" is hidden. The article The world’s oldest story? , originally published in TheConversation [2], state…

Wait a second, this doesn't sound right. According to your wikipedia link, the "Seven Sisters" constellation actually has 9 stars (named after the 7 sisters + parents). They are all visible with the naked eye.

idk about you but when i look at it I see 6. been trying to spot #7, no luck so far.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#105

Post by nsilvestri »

credit_guy wrote: post #90
sradman wrote: post #58

The Pleiades[1], also known as the Seven Sisters: > It is among the star clusters nearest to Earth... and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Only six stars in the cluster are visible to the naked eye yet mythology from several ancient cultures share the idea that one of the seven “sisters" is hidden. The article The world’s oldest story? , originally published in TheConversation [2], state…

Wait a second, this doesn't sound right. According to your wikipedia link, the "Seven Sisters" constellation actually has 9 stars (named after the 7 sisters + parents). They are all visible with the naked eye.

Being technically visible to the naked eye does not mean they are easily discernable. It's like how the Galilean moons are technically visible to the naked eye, but Jupiter's overwhelming brightness makes them nigh on impossible to see except in specific circumstances.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#106

Post by pcmaffey »

tikwidd wrote: post #53
sundarurfriend wrote: post #44

This reminded me of a theory came up with as a teenager, that the Vaanaraas of Ramayana (a group to which the famous "monkey god" Hanuman belongs) may actually be an early hominid that had ape-like features, that lived in parallel with humans in different territory. They were intelligent enough to help the human princes in their quest, which got them a place in their story - a story which went on to become an oral tr…

This might not be quite as outlandish as it sounds, because we now have plenty of evidence that early humans were living alongside and interacting with other archaic homo species. I have a pet (similarly highly speculative) theory that the Nephilim[1] of the Bible might be a earlier oral history of Neanderthals. But I'll just leave it at that, speculation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim

I also have a theory that the Titans were the gods of Neanderthals.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#107

Post by lolinder »

nsilvestri wrote: post #105
credit_guy wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait a second, this doesn't sound right. According to your wikipedia link, the "Seven Sisters" constellation actually has 9 stars (named after the 7 sisters + parents). They are all visible with the naked eye.

Being technically visible to the naked eye does not mean they are easily discernable. It's like how the Galilean moons are technically visible to the naked eye, but Jupiter's overwhelming brightness makes them nigh on impossible to see except in specific circumstances.

Right, but that they are ever visible to anyone means that the story could just as easily be inspired by the rarely-seen 7th sister, rather than the last-seen-100k-years-ago 7th sister.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#108

Post by lolinder »

0_____0 wrote: post #104
credit_guy wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait a second, this doesn't sound right. According to your wikipedia link, the "Seven Sisters" constellation actually has 9 stars (named after the 7 sisters + parents). They are all visible with the naked eye.

idk about you but when i look at it I see 6. been trying to spot #7, no luck so far.

Do you live in the middle of nowhere, far away from any light pollution? If not, your inability to see more than 6 means nothing about what someone 2000 years ago would have been able to see.

Re: ‘Seven Sisters’ Myths May Reach Back 100k Years

#109

Post by CryptoPunk »

tikwidd wrote: post #53
sundarurfriend wrote: post #44

This reminded me of a theory came up with as a teenager, that the Vaanaraas of Ramayana (a group to which the famous "monkey god" Hanuman belongs) may actually be an early hominid that had ape-like features, that lived in parallel with humans in different territory. They were intelligent enough to help the human princes in their quest, which got them a place in their story - a story which went on to become an oral tr…

This might not be quite as outlandish as it sounds, because we now have plenty of evidence that early humans were living alongside and interacting with other archaic homo species. I have a pet (similarly highly speculative) theory that the Nephilim[1] of the Bible might be a earlier oral history of Neanderthals. But I'll just leave it at that, speculation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim

Trolls, in Scandinavian folklore, also fit the profile of neanderthals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll

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