&lt;i&gt;Bos primigenius&lt;/i&gt; in Ancient Egyptian art – historical evidence for the continuity of occurrence and ecology of an extinct key species

Carl Beierkuhnlein

doi:10.21425/f57321527

Abstract

<i>Bos primigenius</i> in Ancient Egyptian art – historical evidence for the continuity of occurrence and ecology of an extinct key species

Highlights

The declining water levels of river Nile are well documented from the 1st up to the 5th Dynasty (Pachur and Altmann 2006), which means that climatic changes continued during the early periods of Ancient Egypt
Aurochs populations must have been relatively large up to the Egyptian New Kingdom (1550–1050 BC), but it is very likely that hunting was reserved for the pharaoh
The aurochs population in Mesopotamia appears to have been very large, and its hunting is known in the cases of Assurnassirpal II (883–859 BC) and Senacherib (704–681 BC)

Summary

Introduction

Bone finds and historical sources indicate that remnant wild populations persisted for centuries in landscapes with domestic cattle (e.g. LasotaMoskalewska and Kobryn 1990). Historical evidence of Aurochs distribution and regional climatic changes within the range of the species The declining water levels of river Nile are well documented from the 1st up to the 5th Dynasty (until 2400 BC) (Pachur and Altmann 2006), which means that climatic changes continued during the early periods of Ancient Egypt.

Results

Conclusion