ABSTRACT
Animals were probably more thoroughly involved in the culture of ancient Egypt than in any other. Egyptian civilisation dates from about 3000 BC.
Lining the tomb of a wealthy nobleman called Ti in Saqqara (5th Dynasty, 2495-2345 BC) are probably the earliest known illustrations of animal keeping (Lauer 1976:50-3). Similar wall sculptures in a neighbouring tomb, that of Mereruka, son-in-law of Pharaoh Teti of the 6th Dynasty (2345-2181 BC) are the earliest known illustrations of a kind of zoo. Antelopes (oryx, addax, and gazelle) are shown tethered next to their mangers, and some are being fed by their attendants, others led by men holding their horns. Some unfortunate geese and a hyena are being force-fed (Lauer 1976:57-61). The representations are stylised yet extremely detailed (the antelopes, for example, can be identified by their horns), probably because they had a religious or magical role, as scenes for a returning ka-or spiritual double of somebody whose body had been mummified-to gaze upon (Lauer 1976:1315). The hyena may have been bred in captivity and was probably being fattened for eating (Zeuner 1963:422). The antelopes too were clearly in some degree domesticated.
