3 ms·

A third possibility is one of the stars used to be much brighter for whatever reason. Ancient drawings would help locate the 7th star. One would think star cha

• throwaway894345 6y ago
  I would think these astronomers would have considered that possibility. One thing to note is that stars were probably less important prior to the advent of agriculture, at which point tracking the seasons became important.
  • samatman 6y ago
    That seems unlikely, there are important seasonal phenomena in hunter-gatherer life, such as game migrations, and knowing when a part of their range will have specific foods ripen. Sedentary people developed the ability to keep durable records, and to build megalithic structures to track stellar phenomena, sure; but that's ability, rather than importance.
• Keysh 6y ago
  A third possibility is one of the stars used to be much brighter for whatever reason. This is an idea that's been tossed around for a while; it has the problem that ancient Greek discussions agree that there were only six stars visible as long as anyone can recall -- even though the myth said there were seven. So if there was a faded star, it faded prior to 500 BC. (Also, no good candidates for a faded star from modern astronomical studies of the Pleiades.) Ancient drawings would help locate the 7th star. Rappenglück (1997) suggested that a collection of dots in the Lascaux cave paintings might represent the Pleiades, in part because it's located above the shoulder of an aurochs (i.e., like the Pleiades is located relative to the constellation of Taurus). But there are only six dots.