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190260

Human posture and the nightly sky

cosmos in prehistoric myth

Abraham Akkerman

pp. 17-31

Abstract

E.O. Wilson, the founder of sociobiology, has pointed out that religion and its rituals are the product of evolution. This chapter extends Wilson's proposition in arguing that celestial sky patterns, the North Star and the circumpolar stars in particular, have been indispensable in the creation of myth. The nightly pattern of sky firmament seemingly rotating round the North Star had been vital to the cerebral progression of anatomically modern humans and in the evolution of their communities and settlements.

Publication details

Published in:

Akkerman Abraham (2016) Phenomenology of the Winter-city: myth in the rise and decline of built environments. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 17-31

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-26701-2_2

Full citation:

Akkerman Abraham (2016) Human posture and the nightly sky: cosmos in prehistoric myth, In: Phenomenology of the Winter-city, Dordrecht, Springer, 17–31.