Important
- Mummification rules – Egyptians strictly did not mummify animals they consumed for food, reserving the practice only for animals that were avatars or servants of deities.
- Domestication difficulty – There was a fundamental difference between animals that needed indoor shelter (like chickens and cattle) which made them easier to domesticate, and those that could survive outdoors (like geese) which were much harder to domesticate.
- Animal dedications – In many coastal areas of Greece, fish comprised the overwhelming majority of religious dedications during the Geometric and Archaic periods.
- Resource extraction proverb – A traditional Greek saying advised to “take honey from the top, wine from the middle, and olive oil from the bottom of jars” to maximize quality and avoid spoilage.
Core concepts
- Classes of Animals: Ancient husbandry broadly categorized animals into seven functional classes: grazing, herding, poultry, draft animals, bees, hunted animals, and fishing.
- Cultural Fluidity: Boundaries between cultures in antiquity were highly fluid, allowing early Christians to actively adopt and repurpose pagan motifs, such as transforming the pheasant from a symbol of Hera into a sign of Christian purity.
- Poultry and Baking: While eggs from various birds were eaten, they were never utilized in ancient baking because ancient diets lacked sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Dairy Consumption and Processing: While Egyptians frequently drank cow’s milk, Greeks and Romans favored the milk of sheep and goats, almost exclusively turning it into cheese to prevent the high rate of spoilage.
- Apiculture (Beekeeping): Beekeeping required significant skill and specialized equipment, including horizontal ceramic hives scored for comb attachment, bee smokers with bellows to sedate hives, and specialized storage pots featuring water-filled ant traps.
- Salt Production: Extracting salt was a passive economy involving coastal rock pans where winter sea water naturally evaporated during summer, allowing for a highly profitable fall harvest with minimal maintenance costs.
- Beasts of Burden: Donkeys and mules were the preferred animals for standard draft work, whereas camels served as the primary beasts of burden on long caravan routes and were typically sold for meat at their terminus.
- Pig Husbandry: Pigs were an attractive livestock choice because they did not require active herding, naturally returned to cover at dusk, and thrived on acorns, meaning they did not compete with humans for valuable crop land.
- Animals as Entertainment: Venationes (animal hunts) and combat sports like cockfighting or bear baiting were hugely popular in arenas, with organizers often preferring to use animals (like bulls or boars) that could be consumed after the spectacle.
- Fish and Seafood Logistics: Fishing was difficult and inland transport was highly inefficient due to poor preservation methods; consequently, complex coastal fish tanks with sea access were built to keep catches alive, while fish offal was heavily salted to produce garum (fish sauce).
Theories and Frameworks
- Sympathetic Magic: The underlying belief system where actions, art, or objects physically mimic a desired outcome, such as depicting ducks eating lotus leaves to symbolize immortality, or sacrificing community-funded pigs to Demeter to actively absorb and project away the community’s sins.
- Orphism: A belief system featuring tenets like reincarnation and the peaceful coexistence of natural enemies (e.g., lions lying with sheep), which was visually represented in art and later appropriated by early Christianity.
- Hughes’ Deforestation Theory: A discredited 1986 theory that incorrectly blamed foraging goats for the widespread deforestation of the Cretan mountains, an event that was actually the result of Nazi burning campaigns.
Notable Individuals
- Dorothy J. Thompson: Analyzed animal husbandry in Ptolemaic Egypt, noting that ideally everyone had a small plot of land and a few animals.
- Dimitra Mylonas: Researched ancient Greek fish-catching to determine if it reflected a society of impoverished fishermen or luxurious banquets.
- Tonnes Bekker-Nielsen: Contributed scholarly research on the use of fishing nets and maritime gear in the Roman world.
- Carl A. Shaw: Explored the intersection of seafood consumption and sexuality within Greek Comedy.
- Manal B. Hammad: Authored research on the specific practices and equipment of bees and beekeeping in Ancient Egypt.
- A.C. Leighton: Published analysis viewing the breeding of the mule as a specialized cultural invention.
- M. Griffith: Investigated the cultural role of equids and donkey-work in the ancient Greek imagination.
- Kathleen Coleman: Analyzed the texts of Martial regarding the use of bears and venatores (hunters) in Roman arena spectacles.
- Richard Byles: Translated historical texts detailing elaborate ancient theatrical farces that featured trained bears and mechanical stages.
- Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann and Vincenz Brinkmann: Successfully reconstructed the vibrant original paint on a recumbent Roman tomb lion based on surviving traces.