And the Norse flood myth may be from Christian influence.
Any theory of a progenitor people must explain why some it persisted in some cultures but not others.
> The universal interpretation of the Pleiades as seven sisters (one now lost) can be explained no other way.
???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matariki - Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars known to Western astronomers as the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus. Matariki is a shortened version of Ngā mata o te ariki o Tāwhirimātea, or "the eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E1%B9%9Bttik%C4%81 - "The star cluster Kṛttikā ... corresponds to the open star cluster called Pleiades in western astronomy ... In Indian astronomy and Jyotiṣa (Hindu astrology) the name literally translates to "the cutters". ... The six Krittikas who raised the Hindu God Kartikeya are Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati, Anasūya and Kṣamā."
> The simpler explanation for prominence of flood myths over all others regardless of proximity to recent flooding events is universal experience, in place, continued over millennia.
There are gods in a lot of mythologies too.
> There must have been, after 12 millennia, a deeply ingrained expectation that the sea would continue rising indefinitely
Yet most of those flood stories have the waters rise then fall, and for a short period -- or before humans ever existed.
And in the Great Flood of Gun-Yu, humans end up controlling the flood - a far cry from a universal mythos of ever-rising waters.
> is the null hypothesis that universal flood myths are local memories
The null hypothesis is that there is no universal flood myth.
From the linked Wikipedia page: "African cultures preserving an oral tradition of a flood include the Kwaya, Mbuti, Maasai, Mandin, and Yoruba peoples."
So, false.
And, obviously there would be local myths of the Pleiades. But the Sisters show up on all continents. That is the fact that needs accounting for.
Dragonwriter is correct: neither universal nor regional flooding is the null hypothesis.
I said most cultures in Africa don't have a flood myth, not that no cultures in Africa have a flood myth. The Wikipedia entry you quoted starts "Although the continent has relatively few flood legends".
There are many more than five cultures in Africa. Any suggestion of a universal common source must explain why those other cultures don't have a flood myth. Including Japan.
We can compare different flood myths and see there's no universal similarity between them except "there was a flood."
And we can see all sorts of other similarities between different cultures, like the presence of gods and supernatural forces, and not draw the conclusion that gods and supernatural forces existed.
We can look at Australian Aboriginal flood myths, which have the strongest evidence for being the result of sea-level rise from 7,000 years ago, and see that your 'simpler explanation' doesn't fit the data.
And I can see that your statement about the "universal interpretation of the Pleiades as seven sisters" is not correct.
There's still no evidence for the universal progenitor culture experience, while there is counter-evidence, including from Australian oral traditions which may date to the same period.
Most peoples in Africa don't have a flood myth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flood_myths#Africa . Nor is there a Japanese myth.
And the Norse flood myth may be from Christian influence.
Any theory of a progenitor people must explain why some it persisted in some cultures but not others.
> The universal interpretation of the Pleiades as seven sisters (one now lost) can be explained no other way.
???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matariki - Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars known to Western astronomers as the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus. Matariki is a shortened version of Ngā mata o te ariki o Tāwhirimātea, or "the eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E1%B9%9Bttik%C4%81 - "The star cluster Kṛttikā ... corresponds to the open star cluster called Pleiades in western astronomy ... In Indian astronomy and Jyotiṣa (Hindu astrology) the name literally translates to "the cutters". ... The six Krittikas who raised the Hindu God Kartikeya are Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati, Anasūya and Kṣamā."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades - "In Japan, the cluster is mentioned under the name Mutsuraboshi ("six stars") in the 8th-century Kojiki"
> The simpler explanation for prominence of flood myths over all others regardless of proximity to recent flooding events is universal experience, in place, continued over millennia.
There are gods in a lot of mythologies too.
> There must have been, after 12 millennia, a deeply ingrained expectation that the sea would continue rising indefinitely
Yet most of those flood stories have the waters rise then fall, and for a short period -- or before humans ever existed.
And in the Great Flood of Gun-Yu, humans end up controlling the flood - a far cry from a universal mythos of ever-rising waters.
> is the null hypothesis that universal flood myths are local memories
The null hypothesis is that there is no universal flood myth.