233
and China, crossed through Papua New Guinea, and arrived in Northern Australia
(Hudjashov et al., 2007), probably in a single wave at least 40,000 years ago
(O’Connell & Allen, 2004). Radiocarbon dating of Mungo Man showed that they
had reached NSW by 40,000 BC (Bowler, Johnston, Olley, et al., 2003). A number
of recent DNA studies (e.g. Nagle et al., 2017) place the departure date from Africa
around 100,000 BC and the arrival date in most of Australia at about 50,000 BC.
From 50,000 BC onwards the Aboriginal people enjoyed a continuous, unbroken
culture, with very little contact with outsiders, other than annual visits from
Macassan trepang collectors to the far north of Australia over the last few hundred
years. Aboriginal culture evolved continuously, with no discontinuities or significant outside influences, until the arrival of the British in 1788, making Aboriginal
Australians among the oldest continuous cultures in the world (McNiven &
Russell, 2005).
When the Australians and Europeans were last together, in 100,000 BC, the
Pleiades would have appeared as seven stars. Given that both cultures refer to them
as “Seven Sisters”, and that their stories about them are so similar, the evidence
seems to support the hypothesis that the “Seven Sisters” story predates the departure
of the Australians and Europeans from Africa in 100,000 BC.
7 Conclusion
We have shown the great similarity between the Aboriginal and Greek stories of the
Pleiades and Orion. Specifically, both (in common with many other cultures)
predominantly:
• call the cluster “Seven Sisters”, although most humans nowadays see six stars,
and then have stories to explain why the seventh is invisible.
• identify the Pleiades as a group of young girls
• identify Orion as hunter, or young man, or group of young men
• have stories in which Orion is attempting to catch or rape the girls in the Pleiades
These strong similarities suggest a common origin, which appears to predate
European contact with Aboriginal Australia. This similarity includes an insistence
on there being seven stars, even though only six are visible to most people, together
with a story to explain the “lost Pleiad”. The evidence presented above shows that,
because of the proper motion of Pleione, the Pleiades would indeed have appeared
as seven stars to most humans in 100,000 BC. We conclude that the Pleiades/Orion
story dates back to about 100,000 BC, before our ancestors left Africa, and was carried by the people who left Africa to become Aboriginal Australians, Europeans,
and other nationalities.
Acknowledgments We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional owners and elders,
both past and present, of all the Indigenous groups mentioned in this paper. We thank Simon
O’Toole and Norbert Langer for helpful advice on the variability of the stars of the Pleiades, and
Miroslav Filipovic for information about Serbian astronomy. We thank Harilaos Ginis for a helpful
discussion about the acuity of the human eye.
Why Are There Seven Sisters?
and China, crossed through Papua New Guinea, and arrived in Northern Australia
(Hudjashov et al., 2007), probably in a single wave at least 40,000 years ago
(O’Connell & Allen, 2004). Radiocarbon dating of Mungo Man showed that they
had reached NSW by 40,000 BC (Bowler, Johnston, Olley, et al., 2003). A number
of recent DNA studies (e.g. Nagle et al., 2017) place the departure date from Africa
around 100,000 BC and the arrival date in most of Australia at about 50,000 BC.
From 50,000 BC onwards the Aboriginal people enjoyed a continuous, unbroken
culture, with very little contact with outsiders, other than annual visits from
Macassan trepang collectors to the far north of Australia over the last few hundred
years. Aboriginal culture evolved continuously, with no discontinuities or significant outside influences, until the arrival of the British in 1788, making Aboriginal
Australians among the oldest continuous cultures in the world (McNiven &
Russell, 2005).
When the Australians and Europeans were last together, in 100,000 BC, the
Pleiades would have appeared as seven stars. Given that both cultures refer to them
as “Seven Sisters”, and that their stories about them are so similar, the evidence
seems to support the hypothesis that the “Seven Sisters” story predates the departure
of the Australians and Europeans from Africa in 100,000 BC.
7 Conclusion
We have shown the great similarity between the Aboriginal and Greek stories of the
Pleiades and Orion. Specifically, both (in common with many other cultures)
predominantly:
• call the cluster “Seven Sisters”, although most humans nowadays see six stars,
and then have stories to explain why the seventh is invisible.
• identify the Pleiades as a group of young girls
• identify Orion as hunter, or young man, or group of young men
• have stories in which Orion is attempting to catch or rape the girls in the Pleiades
These strong similarities suggest a common origin, which appears to predate
European contact with Aboriginal Australia. This similarity includes an insistence
on there being seven stars, even though only six are visible to most people, together
with a story to explain the “lost Pleiad”. The evidence presented above shows that,
because of the proper motion of Pleione, the Pleiades would indeed have appeared
as seven stars to most humans in 100,000 BC. We conclude that the Pleiades/Orion
story dates back to about 100,000 BC, before our ancestors left Africa, and was carried by the people who left Africa to become Aboriginal Australians, Europeans,
and other nationalities.
Acknowledgments We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional owners and elders,
both past and present, of all the Indigenous groups mentioned in this paper. We thank Simon
O’Toole and Norbert Langer for helpful advice on the variability of the stars of the Pleiades, and
Miroslav Filipovic for information about Serbian astronomy. We thank Harilaos Ginis for a helpful
discussion about the acuity of the human eye.
Why Are There Seven Sisters?