Article
ID: CBB584961949

A cultural comparison of the 'dark constellations' in the Milky Way (2020)

unapi
Ethnoastronomy Memory Traditional knowledge Cosmology Science and civilization Indigenous peoples; indigeneity Milky Way Galaxy

Cultures around the world find meaning in the groupings of stars and features in the Milky Way. The striking appearance of our Galaxy in the night sky serves as a reference to traditional knowledge, encoding science and culture to a memory space, becoming part of their overarching cosmologies. This paper examines traditional views of the Milky Way from cultures around the world, primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. These views comprise dark constellations: familiar shapes made up of the dark dust lanes in the Milky Way, rather than the bright stars. Some of the better-known examples include the celestial emu from Aboriginal traditions of Australia, and the llama in Inca traditions of the Andes. We conduct a comparative analysis of cultural perceptions of 'dark constellations' in the Milky Way, examining common cultural themes and meanings at the crossroads of Indigenous Knowledge and Western science with applications to topics ranging from Indigenous Studies to psychology.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB584961949/

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Authors & Contributors
Hamacher, Duane W.
Ruby Ann B. Dela Cruz
Jesus Rodrigo F. Torres
Smith, Robert William
Norris, Ray P.
Cartwright, Brad J.
Journals
Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry
Journal for the History of Astronomy
Journal of Black Studies
Publishers
Springer
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Rizal Technological University
The University of Texas at El Paso
Springer International Publishing
University of Chicago Press
Concepts
Indigenous peoples; indigeneity
Cosmology
Ethnoastronomy
Astronomy
Constellations; zodiac
Traditional knowledge
People
Mabel Cook Cole
Hubble, Edwin Powell
Zwicky, Fritz
Sitter, Willem de
Maanen, Adriaan van
Herschel, William
Time Periods
Ancient
20th century, early
19th century
Prehistory
Medieval
20th century
Places
Australia
Philippines
Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma
Micronesia
Andes
New Guinea
Institutions
Mount Wilson Observatory
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