Eight-pointed star as a symbol of intercultural communication
The article is devoted to the symbol of eight-pointed star, which is used in arts and crafts and in national symbols of Eurasia, North and South America, Africa, Australia and Oceania. The authors think that the presence of the star in all populated continents may be a consequence of intercultural communication that began in the prehistoric period. The most ancient centers where the symbol of eight-pointed star was known since the V-IV thousand BC are South-Eastern and Eastern China, Mesopotamia, South Turkmenia, the territory of Pastos and Otovalo in Ecuador and Colombia. Investigation discovers the possible pathways of the star expansion all over the world from the oldest areas of its existence. The authors suggest several hypothetical models of these processes. The research outlines the main options of the center of Eurasia the star could appear from in South America in ancient times: during migration through Beringia 10-12 thousands years ago or by sea connections at a later time. The presence of eight-pointed-star in Maori culture in New Zealand is considered separately. It could have been brought proposed from South-Eastern China due to the migration of people to Indonesia, Oceania and Polynesia that began 3 thousands years ago or from South America together with the Indians who had made the sea migration to the west, according to Thor Heyerdahl.