在已经发现的距今约4000~8000年前的新石器时代中国史前文化中,曾经出现过一次八角星图案的"暴发"。在这个时期的多达20余处的文化遗址中,都发现了八角星图案。这些遗址分布广泛,北至内蒙古,南至湖南,东至山东半岛,西至青海;已发现的最早的八角星图案出现在距今约7800年前,在湖南洪江的高庙遗址。鉴于生活在新石器时代不同地域的古人类之间,没有或者极少有通用的文字、语言等文化交流的媒介,而在他们的文化遗存中却都出现了八角星图案,这是非常值得研究的现象。考虑这样一种可能性,八角星图案是对一种发生在新石器时代、生活在广大地域的人类都能看到的非常引人瞩目天象的写照和反映。与同时代出现的类太阳图案比较表明,八角星图案很可能与一次史前的超新星爆发事件有关,是对超新星爆发后一段时间内的该天体形状的摹写和记录。结合现代天文学中银河系内超新星遗迹的观测资料,考虑超新星遗迹的距离、年龄和方位等因素,认为船帆座超新星或天鹅圈超新星的二者之一,可作为与新石器时代八角星图案有关的超新星爆发事件的候选者。

Within the different prehistoric cultures 4000-8000 years ago in the Neolithic Age of China, a "burst" of Eight-Pointed Star (called bajiaoxing in Chinese) patterns has been found in recent decades. In both northern and southern China at more than 20 prehistoric sites (the northernmost from Inner Mongolia, southernmost found in Hunan Province; easternmost from the Shandong Peninsula, and westernmost from Qinghai Province) these eight-pointed-star patterns have been unearthed. The earliest known of such star shapes was found in the 7800 year old Gaomiao ruins, Hunan Province. Since in the Neolithic Age people lived in remote places, had hardly any means of mutual communication (there is no trace of a written language; information communicated by spoken language spreads slowly), while usage of the eight-pointed-star pattern quickly became widespread, we conclude that the appearance was not a chance event. It is suggested that the possibility that these star patterns were a reflection or depiction of an astronomical phenomenon which was observed by and greatly impressed people who lived in different parts of Neolithic China. Through a comparison with Sun-like patterns discovered in relics of the same period an explanation is preferred by us that the eight-pointed-star patterns recorded and depict a supernova explosion rather than the Sun. Checking supernova remnants in the Galaxy from modern observations, and taking account of the remnant parameters of distance, age and position, It is suggested that the exploded supernovae of Vela and the Cygnus Loop could be candidates for the Neolithic eight-pointed star, the former with a higher probability. It is interesting that even today the remnant of the Vela supernova still has several "horns".