Ancient Uses of Animals: Practical & Symbolic - Essay Sample

Introduction

The use of animals by humans in ancient periods was diverse in both practical and symbolic purpose. The symbolic use of animals included literature, mythology, religion, and art. The practical application included the production of clothing and food (Wing, & Reitz, 2008). The animals that were used for such ways included mammals, birds, fish, insects, fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Economically, the animals during the ancient times provided much of the meat that was eaten by the people during the time regardless of whether they were farmed or hunted.

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Additionally, animals have been used to provide a large part if the part that was used in transport and work. Many species mainly mammals such as cats and dogs were used as pets which are often anthropomorphized. Animals such as deer and horses are among the earliest animals to be used in art as evidence have been found in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings these include areas such as Lascaux. Animals have been a crucial part of human life in ancient history, mainly in practical and symbolic use.

Practical Use of Animals in Ancient Period

The practical use of animal in ancient history has been broad, and it ranges from food, transport and work, clothing, sport, pets, and hunting, among other activities. This mainly started upon the start of domestication of animals, which mostly started about 20,000 years ago.

Food

Over many centuries the human population has exploited a wide range of animal species for food. This included the domesticated animals and at sea and rivers and by hunting wild species. Importantly, hunting was the primary source of food for ancient people as they mainly depended on hunting and gathering (Thornton et al., 2012). Upon domestication of animal's human beings were able to get natural meat as they did not have to go hunting and gathering all the times and at home, the domesticated animals such as cartels, sheep, and goats could also produce milk that could serve as an alternative to meat (Wing, & Reitz, 2008). This indicates that the domestication of animal resulted in a lot of benefits to the human population as now there was an abundant supply of food compared to when they used to hunt and to gather.

Some of the communities used to drink blood from their animals such as the Maasai I Kenya. This is a practice which has been prevalent in the communal for centuries. Additionally, fishing was another activity that was a useful source of food in ancient history (Killgrove, & Tykot, 2013). People started fishing in old time, and this was facilitated by the availability of abundant water areas such as river, lakes, and oceans. For instance, in early Egypt river Nile, as was the primary source of fish in the area (Juan, Guzik, Jaume, & Cooper, 2010). Likewise, areas near Lake Turkana are believed to be the credal if humankind and this is because the city is close to a lake which provides a fishing ground.

Clothing

Apart from food animal also had skin that was used as a clothing fether, they were slaughtered. Some of the animals, such as leopard and lions, provided some of the beautiful surfaces that were used as clothing as they provided superiority and pride in the community. This is because such animals were dangerous and hunting that required a lot of strength and courage, and their skin was highly valued (Comin, Easterly, & Gong, 2010). The textile was also another industry that developed for clothing as some of the most expensive clothing was made form animals fibers such as camel hair, cashmere, mohair, and wool. Such activities also resulted in the start of trade as people would make clothes for animal product and trade it for other product which they did not have. For, instance, Africa has, for centuries being exploited for the trade of leopard skin and ivory (Thornton et al., 2012). Additionally, in the ancient times, Tyrian Purple was mainly extracted from the sea snails such as the Muricidae that was primarily used for the clothing for the royalty in the society as Pliny the elder and Aristotle recorded it.

Transport, War, and Work

During the start of farming, animals such as donkey, horse, cartels, camels, and elephants have been used for work. This was mainly to cultivate farms. The earliest evidence of such activities was during the Mesopotamian periods, and old Egyptian kingdom were animals were used for such purpose of works such taming and moving farm produce for the farm the granaries (Juan et al., 2010). The use of animals mainly in farm work such as plowing was necessary as this invention reduced the cases of famine as the farm produce was high.

Further, animals such as camels, oxen, horses, and donkeys were used for transportation purposes. Early merchant use camels to transport their product across long distances. This primarily facilitated trade among kingdoms and cities (Juan et al., 2010). The donkey was another animal that was used in transport due to his ability to carry bulky goods. The horse was mainly used in transportation because of its ability to move faster.

Additionally, horse and elephants were used in war. Early, armies were built in soldieries who used horses as they needed to cover large area trying to conquer kingdoms. A good example is the Roman empire were horse was a crucial part of the army. The Indians mainly used Elephants in war as they were healthy (Wing, & Reitz, 2008). This intimidated many troops, including Alexander the great. Additionally, the Mongol Empire widely used the horses in war as they were one of the best horse breeders at times. This enabled the kingdom to become one of the most significant dynasties in the world over a short period as they were able to cover large areas.

Image Showing Cattle plowing in ancient period

Image Showing Soldier at war Using Horse

Hunting

Animals and some product from the animals assisted people in ancient times in hunting. For instance, the dog, since its domestication has been used to help the man in the hunting process (Killgrove, & Tykot, 2013). The dog used to chase down animals such as foxes, wolves, and dears. Similarly, tethered cormorants were used to cased fish in lakes and rivers (Juan et al., 2010). On the other hand, birds of preys such as falcons and eagles were used in falconry and hunting of mammals and birds. Moreover, poison from frogs used to make poisonous tips of blowpipe darts.

Pets

The earliest domestication of animals started as pets. This mainly included cats and dog as they were the first animals to be domesticated. This has resulted in the dog being referred to as the man's best friend (Comin, Easterly, & Gong, 2010). Different variety of animals have been domesticated over the centuries, such as snakes, chameleons, and praying mantises. However, mammals were the most popular pets with most of them, including rabbits, cats, and dogs; this is because these animals were much friendly than other animals, and it was easy to capture them.

Sport

Serval people across the world in ancient times hunted animals for sport. For instance, in the Maasai community in Kenya, killing a lion was a sign of supremacy, and such people were considered as competition means in public (Serpell, 2010). Horses and camels were used in races with the winning horse rider being regarded as the champion. Likewise, some groups also conducted bullfighting events were bulls participated in the games. Other societies, mainly in Asia, also held cockfighting events. It is evident that sport was one of the main aspects it the ancient periods.

Symbolic Uses

In Art

Animals mainly mammals, fish, insects, and other groups are the rat of art both in ancient Egypt and prehistoric times as being cave painting. Some of the essential sites with such picture include Lascaux and Dordogne. The primary, animal paintings include horses and elephants (Thornton et al., 2012). Additionally, the egotism played a crucial role in such activities as some of the documents in existences have such painting and drawings of animals. Art has influenced the use of animals over time as the used of animals in different aspects grew with time.

Image Showing Lion in Art from Ancient Period

Literature

The use of animals in literature has been passed from generation to generation. This is the reason why later generations came to learn of the animals that have been extinct. This has been through the storytelling of passages. Some of the animals include Woolly Mammoth, Sabre-toothed Cat, Great Auk, and Dodo, among others (Comin, Easterly, & Gong, 2010). Such literature has been crucial in passing knowledge from generations generation.

Mythology and Religion

Animals since the memorial time they have been featured in religion and mythology. Some of them included insects and mammals as far as ancient Greece, and Rome butterfly was primarily seen as the personification of an individual's soul both alive and after death (Serpell, 2010). Additionally, the scarab beetle was sacred in early Egyptian history while at the same time, the praying mantis was mainly considered as a god in the Khoi and San communities (Killgrove, & Tykot, 2013). Mammals such as the deer, cattle, lions, bats, horses, wolves, and bears were subject to worship and myths in several ancient communities. Reptiles such as crocodile were worshiped in several cultures such as Hinduism and ancient Egypt.

Table Indicting Domestication of Animals, Time, and Region of Domestication

Animal Time (Approximate date B.P) Region

Rabbit 500 Europe

Dog 13,000-15,000 Andes

Cat 8,000 Eurasia

Donkey 2,000 Northeast Africa

Horse 6,000 Kazakhstan

Cattle 9,000 Europe, Western Europe, Asia, North Africa

Sheep 9,000 Eurasia: Near East and India

Goat 10,000 Eurasia: Fertile Crescent, Asia, Europe, Mongolia

Chicken 8,000 Southeast Asia

Conclusion

To sum up, animals played a crucial part in ancient times. This included as a source of food, sport, war, clothing, literature, and religions. Most of the communities in ancient history even worshiped animals such as praying mantises, crocodile, lions, and horse. Transportation and work were some of the essential uses of animals in the early ancient period. This involved farming and moving goods and people from one area or region to another. This facilitated tared between neighborhoods and communities. Some of the people who utilized horses in sport and war were the communities in the Mongol Empire. Horse sport is even practiced by descendants of these communities even today. The use of animals in ancient history can be divided into the practical and symbolic application.

References

Comin, D., Easterly, W., & Gong, E. (2010). Was the wealth of nations determined in 1000 BC?. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2(3), 65-97. DOI: 10.1257/mac.2.3.65

Juan, C., Guzik, M. T., Jaume, D., & Cooper, S. J. (2010). Evolution in caves: Darwin's 'wrecks of ancient life' in the molecular era. Molecular Ecology, 19(18), 3865-3880. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04759.x

Killgrove, K., & Tykot, R. H., (2013). Food for Rome: a stable isotope investigation of diet in the Imperial period (1st-3rd centuries AD). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 32(1), 28-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2012.08.002

Serpell, J. A., (2010). Animal-assisted interventions in historical perspective. In Handbook on animal-assisted therapy (pp. 17-32). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-381453-1.10002-9

Thornton, E. K., Emery, K. F., Steadman, D. W., Speller, C., Matheny, R., & Yang, D. (2012). Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya region: implications for pre-hispanic animal trade and the timing of Turkey domestication. PLoS One, 7(8), e42630. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042630

Wing, E. S.,...