Sep 14, 2026 · 30 min
A 100,000-year-old myth faces a modern evidence test
What's the oldest story ever told?
The debate shows both how scholars reconstruct ancient traditions and why recurring myths may reveal shared human concerns without proving direct inheritance.
- 1Ray Norris links Orion and Pleiades myths to a story humans may have carried out of Africa 100,000 years ago.
- 2Manvir Singh argues that independent invention and selective evidence make the proposed ancient tradition difficult to establish.
- 3Comparing languages and myths can reconstruct older patterns, even when no single story’s uninterrupted survival can be proven.
Don't miss
Manvir Singh explains why a 100,000-year-old Pleiades tradition is difficult to distinguish from independent invention.
The brief
The episode begins with the search for humanity’s oldest story, from George Smith’s discovery of flood mythology to recurring tales of seven Pleiades sisters with one missing.
Astrophysicist Ray Norris argues that shared Orion and Pleiades myths may descend from a story carried out of Africa by migrating humans as long as 100,000 years ago.
Cognitive anthropologist Manvir Singh challenges that claim, noting that independent invention, selective evidence, and the visual relationship between the stars complicate the case.
The discussion turns to reconstruction: by comparing languages and traditions, scholars infer Proto-Indo-European gods and a recurring thunder-god-versus-serpent story.
The conclusion shifts the standard of proof: recurring myths need not preserve one unchanged tale to illuminate common human concerns and ancient imaginative lives.
Featuring
Manvir Singh
Pleiades
Epic of GilgameshBooks & mentions
Listen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.