Using Animals

Animals have long been used by human beings in a wide variety of ways.

Having access to beef was considered a marker of high social status in ancient Egypt. Fish, birds, pigs and goats were more likely to be consumed by the rest of the population of the Nile Valley.

Large mammals were utilised as beasts of burden, with cattle used in agricultural work, and donkeys, horses and camels used for transportation of people and goods.

When an animal was butchered for food, non-edible parts of the carcass would not be thrown away. Bone, tooth, feather and hide would all be used as raw materials for making both tools and decorative objects.

Many objects were crafted in the form of animals, or parts of animals, for both aesthetic and more symbolic purposes. The writing of ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, employs many symbols drawn from the fauna of the Nile Valley.

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