2016/01/05 by Trevor M. Leaman, Duane W. Hamacher, Leaman, Trevor M. +3
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Australian Indigenous Culture and History #Categorization, perception, and language #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #physics.hist-ph #physics.soc-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1601.01065
Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, Vol. 19(1), in press
openalex publication_date 2016/01/05 · arxiv created 2016/01/06 · arxiv updated 2016/01/07 · openalex created_date 2023/02/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Australian Indigenous astronomical traditions hint at a relationship between animals in the skyworld and the behaviour patterns of their terrestrial counterparts. In our continued study of Aboriginal astronomical traditions from the Great Victoria Desert, South Australia, we investigate the relationship between animal behaviour and stellar positions. We develop a methodology to test the hypothesis that the behaviour of these animals is predicted by the positions of their celestial counterparts at particular times of the day. Of the twelve animals identified in the Ooldean sky, the nine stellar (i.e. non-planet or non-galactic) associations were analysed and each demonstrated a close connection between animal behaviour and stellar positions. We suggest that this may be a recurring theme in Aboriginal astronomical traditions, requiring further development of the methodology.