Bird-human interactions in the Ancient Near East A contribution of Near Eastern archaeology to Human-Animal Studies

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Elisabeth von der Osten-Sacken
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 449033649

Near Eastern archaeology deals with a long period of human history during which drastic changes in the human way of life took place, such as settling down, the introduction of agriculture and the beginning of urbanization, to name only three of the most important changes. It can therefore be assumed that bird-human interactions also changed significantly during these upheavals. So far, however, only speculations are possible due to a lack of possibilities for comparison; the nature, extent and timing of the modifications are not known, since no useful methods for their determination and dating have existed until now. This is the starting point of the project, whose goal is to draw a development of the bird-human correlations in the context of changing human culture. The respective bird-human interactions will be studied in dependence on the simultaneous living and environmental conditions using the theoretical model of the 'triangle of interaction'. In contrast to other approaches, all three factors - birds, humans and the environment - are given equal weighting, which makes it possible to describe their respective influence equivalently. This may also open up new possibilities for the interpretation of ancient oriental bird representations and provide clues for the study of cuneiform bird classifications.Due to the fact that birds cover many areas of possible animal-human constellations, but that there is a manageable number of evidence from the Ancient Near East, it is possible to describe corresponding scenarios for successive periods. By the uniform recording of interactions, the development of interactions between birds and humans can be presented in such a way that the significance of cultural changes for this process becomes clear. One of the results of the project will therefore be a diachronic representation of bird-human correlations in ancient Near East with their changes and upheavals, but also constants.In order to be able to place the development in the Near East in a larger cultural framework, the identified bird-human correlations will be compared with those in neighbouring cultures (Egypt and Classical Antiquity). The aim is to classify and uncover possible connections and similarities, but also to identify radical contradictions, differences and "otherness". The question is thus whether the development is dependent on that of human culture or whether the natural environment is the dominant factor in the process.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants