Animals in Ancient Material Cultures (vol. 3)

Dear Colleagues,

Ever since the Neolithic domestication, animals have been part of everyday human life, imagination, and religion. In antiquity, many human pursuits, from plowing the field to fighting on the battlefield, from the consumption of food to sacrificing to the gods, were shaped by, and relied upon, a symbiotic or interdependent relationship with animals. Animals were hunted or tamed, kept for entertainment or even worshipped. Material culture provides important evidence as representations and illustrations, expressions and mediations of ancient ideas and attitudes about, as well as experiences and interactions with, the animal world which surrounded them. Iconographic representations may, for instance, reflect social status as much as religious practices. Such imagery can offer visual clues for the dissemination of animal husbandry, as well as for beliefs in mythic creatures.

The theme of this Special Issue, “Animals in Ancient Material Cultures”, broadly includes the Mediterranean world and the Near East, from ca. 10,000 bce to 500 ce (although exceptions in period or region may be considered). Approaching this subject from a broad chronological and geographical perspective allows the contributors to focus on a specific region, period, animal, and/or creature. Papers may draw on archaeological, physical, visual, and/or cultural material to examine the dispersal and exchange, appropriation, and acculturation of practices and beliefs. This Special Issue aims to bring together specialists from different fields of expertise, including but not limited to art history, ancient history, classics, classical archaeology, and zooarchaeology.

After the successful run of the first two volumes—the first dedicated to conference papers associated with panels at the University of Edinburgh and the Allard Pierson Museum—this third volume again welcomes submissions on the subject Animals in Ancient Material Cultures. To reiterate, while the focus is on the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, excursions to other periods or regions will be considered, but an art historical aspect is expected. Articles may be anywhere in size between 5000 and 25,000 words in length, and should be submitted before 30 June 2022.

Dr. Branko F. van Oppen de Ruiter
Dr. Chiara Cavallo
Guest Editors

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