Teaching Sequence

5 minutes - Tune in: What do you know about the night sky?
25 minutes - Find out: How did ancient cultures, including First Nations peoples understand the night sky and utilise and apply this knowledge?
15 minutes - Take action: Research another First Nations sky story to explain an astronomical phenomenon
5 minutes - Reflection: Do you consider ancient cultures to have been scientists?

Tune in: What do you currently know about the night sky?

Step 1.

Ask students to close their eyes and imagine they are outside on a clear night, looking up at the sky. What can they see? Depending on where your students live, the light pollution of the area may mean they see very few stars, while others can see hundreds, so responses may vary!

Step 2.

Using the ideas from Step 1 and their general knowledge, write as many astronomical terms as you can think of on the board. An extension of this task would be to ask students to add words to a shared digital document or add the terms to a word cloud.

Step 3.

Show students the following image of the night sky. (This image can also be found on Slide 2 of the attached slide deck)

Nighttime images of coastal cliffs with milky way and stars in the background

The Night Sky. Source: Canva

Ask students to write down what comes to mind from the image in a See, Think, Wonder table

SEE	THINK	WONDER

Step 4.

Explain to students there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of objects in the night sky visible to human eyes. As a species, we have always looked for prominent objects and patterns from our environment, often giving them meaning and significance.

Show students an image of the Orion Constellation (hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2006/01/1836-Image.html)

(This image can also be found on Slide 3 of the attached slide deck)

Orion Constellation. Credit: Akira Fujii

Step 5.

Tell students this is a prominent constellation/sky figure visible in the Australian night sky in January.

Ask students what they can now see.

Are there any patterns or shapes visible?
What do students think they are looking at in this image? (Hint: there are more than just stars in the picture, there is an entire galaxy and all of its stars shown)
Can any students name the constellation or any of the objects that make it up?

Leave this image on a screen, as it will be used in the next section of the lesson.

Find out: Ancient understanding of the night sky

Step 1.

Explain to students that since humans could look up to the night sky and communicate, our species has sought to draw meaning and understanding from what they could see. In this part of the lesson, we'll examine examples from different cultures and periods.

Choose one story from the Aztec, Greek or Chinese cultures and compare it with the First Nations sky figure. You will find the Orion constellation images alongside images from each culture in the attached slide deck.

Story 1 - The Greeks

You can read the following with students or have them read it on the Student Worksheet.

To the ancient Greeks, Orion was the son of the god Poseidon and Euryale, daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are several versions of the Orion myth. In one version, he was known as a hunter who announced that he would kill every animal in the world. This angered Gaea, the goddess of the Earth, who sent a scorpion to kill him. When Orion died, Zeus turned him into a constellation, along with the scorpion that killed him. The scorpion and Orion were placed on opposite sides of the sky so that when Scorpius rises, Orion flees and sets below the horizon. Orion is brightest in the Greek evening sky in mid-winter.

Ask students the following:

Where was the Greek civilisation? (The empire of Ancient Greece reached as far as Asia and consisted of settlements in Asia Minor, southern Italy, Sicily, and the Greek islands.
When did it exist? (1200 BCE - 323 BCE)
Which part of the constellation in the Hubble photo is "Orion"? (The brightest points in the image make up Orion's body, belt and sword. Some students familiar with the constellation may also be able to point out his arm and bow, which are not as bright in the image).
What is the purpose of this story? (Can be used to tell the time: as Orion makes his way towards the horizon, it means the night is coming to an end)

Note: Information taken from: Encyclopedia Britannica (www.britannica.com/summary/ancient-Greece)

Story 2 - Chinese Mythology

In Chinese mythology, Shichen was the younger son of an emperor named Gaoxinshi. He was always fighting with his elder brother Ebo. The situation was so desperate that his father had no choice but to separate them. Ebo was moved to Shangqiu and was responsible for sacrifices to the Shang star, while Shichen was moved to Daxia and was responsible for the sacrifices to Shen. These two constellations were like the brothers who lived far away from each other and never met.

Student questions:

Where was the ancient Chinese empire? (The geographical extent of the Chinese empire varied between dynasties, extending west and north from what we now recognise as China)
When did it exist? (Though debated, the first dynasty, the Xia dynasty, is thought to have existed from around 2070 until 1600 B.C.E. The last emperor of China stepped down in 1911!)
Which part of the constellation in the Hubble photo is 'Shen'? (Using the Hubble Orion images image sheet, compare the two images side-by-side to see how 'Orion's belt' and other parts of 'Orion' match the depiction of the stars making up Shen).
What is the purpose of this story? ("The chart may have been used to consult the heavens to predict earthly events … Chinese emperors sought celestial clues for political and warfare decisions, and the importance of divination led to an early precision in star catalogues."

Note: information taken from National Geographic: Imperial China's Dynasties and Hong Kong Space Museum: Constellations and Myths

Story 3 -The Aztecs

The Aztecs believed that every 52 years, the sun would disappear if they did not relight a fire. In anticipation, The Aztec people extinguished all fires in the empire. When the sky figure, named 'the fire drill' by the Aztecs, rose above the horizon and was entered by the moon, a sacrifice was made, and a fire was lit. Torches were lit from this fire, which spread throughout the Aztec empire to light fires in cities and households.

Student questions:

Where was the Aztec empire? (The heart of the Aztec empire is what is modern-day Mexico)
When did it exist? (The Aztecs are believed to have migrated to central Mexico in the 13th century, though their main settlement dates to 1325 C.E.
Which part of the Hubble photo is "the fire drill"? (Orion's belt)
What is the purpose of this story? (The Aztecs used the story to identify the beginning of a specifically-timed and culturally significant event. The stars and moon only interacted in a specific way every so often, guiding the rituals)

Note: information taken from National Geographic: Aztec Civilization and Mexicolore.co.uk: 'Mamalhuaztli (fire drill)'

Story 4 - First Nations peoples of Australia (Woorabinda-Biregaba people)

Images, story recording and an excerpt from star wheel provided with permission from Dr Tim Patston, Creative Actions

For several First Nations groups/mobs across Australia, this sky figure represents an emu. However, for the Woorabinda-Biregaba people of QLD, it represents the story of Marigu-Jarn, who believed he was the best hunter in his clan and that he also deserved the best wife. He would play with his dancing sticks, and when they didn't woo the women, he chased the Seven Sisters through the Bush to try and catch a wife. The sky figure is in two parts in the evening sky in January: he is seen as the figure playing with his dance sticks, while the 7 women appear as a group of stars huddled together to escape him. When this figure is in the sky, echidnas are out hunting for wood ants in the scrub. At this time, members of the group know the time has come to search for echidnas that make good eating. It is also a time for corroborees and the initiation of young men.

Student questions:

Where are the Woorabinda-Biregaba situated? (QLD. Woorabinda is located in Central Queensland, 170km south-west of Rockhampton and 65km south of Duaringa)
When was this story created?
Which part of the constellation is "Marigu-Jarn"? (The familiar three stars of Orion's belt can be seen in Marigu-Jarn, as well as other prominent stars typically referred to as Orion)
What is the purpose of this story? (An indication of the time of year, leading to good hunting and culturally significant events)

Note: information taken from Creative Actions: Introduction to Indigenous Creativity

Take action: Think locally – research another First Nations sky-figure story

Step 1. Explain to students:

First Nations peoples around the continent developed stories about the night sky and celestial phenomena for various purposes.

These included;

availability of natural resources, both animals and plants
knowing the time for specific cultural ceremonies to occur
arranging meetings between nations over long distances to ensure genetic diversity
explaining and passing on important information regarding morals, culture and societal structure

Using your curiosity and research skills, you will find a First Nations story related to the night sky from a First Nations group/mob. Each group must find a different story from a different country (perhaps allocate each group a state or territory).

Questions:

Which First Nations group/mob is the story from, and where is this nation located?
What time of year does the story refer to?
What is the purpose of the story?
How does the story add to our scientific understanding of the region? For example, how does it add to our scientific knowledge of the animals, plants and weather patterns of the area?

Reflection

This can be a short group discussion, or students can take notes for a deeper reflection after the class. Read the following quote.

"After a duration of a thousand years, the power of astrology broke down when, with Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, the progress of astronomy overthrew the false hypothesis upon which the entire structure rested, namely the geocentric system of the universe. Celestial mechanics and spectrum analysis finally robbed them of their mysterious prestige." Franz Cumont (1868-1947)

Why do you think all human cultures have been and are curious about the night sky?
Do you consider ancient cultures, including First Nations cultures, to be scientists?
Do you agree with Cumont?

Differentiated Learning

Extension activity – Research a local First Nations story. What nation is the school situated on? If they are unable to find a story through online research, students can contact the local Indigenous community and endeavour to discover a story.

First Nations Astronomy: Understanding the Stars

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