The Cosmic Hunt is an ancient and widely distributed family of cognate myths.
Variants of the Cosmic Hunt are common in cultures of Northern Eurasia and the Americas, and include the story of Callisto in classical sources.
[1] The prey animal is either a bear or an ungulate, and the associated constellation involves the four stars of the bowl in the Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major.
[1] Sometimes the hunters are also placed in the firmament, represented by the stars of the Big Dipper's handle.
[2] It has been suggested to provide evidence for punctuated equilibrium as a system for myth evolution.