The Puppy in Hittite Ritual

Abstract

Dogs in Hittite society were valued for their usefulness in hunting, shepherding, and guarding.2 Even as pariah-dogs they had their uses. Some believe that the domestication of the dog was motivated largely by the recognition of the useful sanitation services that these scavengers provide to human communities.3 The dog's contribution to Hittite culture did not end there, however. Young dogs also played an extensive, and apparently vital, role in ritual. Indeed, puppies are exploited for ritual use to the exclusion of adult dogs.4 The reasons for this are never explained in ancient sources, although we may speculate that dogs were more easily available to the common populace that practiced these rituals than other animals, and that puppies were otherwise valueless, since they had not yet been trained as sheepdog, watchdog, or hunting dog. It seems very likely as well that some symbolic or religious significance was attached to puppies that was not attached to fully grown animals. Puppies had two primary uses in Hittite ritual, namely, prevention and purification. To achieve these goals a number of methods might be