Animals of Ancient Egypt
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Animals in Egypt
For my project I decided to do Egyptian Animals. I found out that Egypts animals have a lot in common with todays animals. For example, cats, sheep, hippopotamus, cheetahs, dogs, cattle, goats, pigs, geese, horses, baboons, cobras, crocodiles, falcons, hawks, frogs, lions, ostrich, turtles, vultures, snakes, scorpions, rams, and bugs; such as beetles.
All of these animals still exist today. Many of these animals were used for milk, wool, meat, eggs, horns, skins, and also they were used for leather. The animals could also be used for symbols. For example, the goose was used on Gebs headdress. Many animals lived on the Nile River. One of the animals that lived there was the hippopotamus. The hippo was dangerous to people on boats, but also people that were working on the Nile River.
Many birds lived along the Nile. Like falcons, kites, geese, cranes, herons, plover, pigeon, ibis, vultures, and also owls. These birds lived along the Nile River because there were fish that they could eat and water for the hot days. The falcon was thought to be the guardian of the ruler. It protected the Pharaoh with its long wings that were about 40-46 inches long. Later on, they made a catacomb which was a place for mummified falcons. Falcons were usually symbols of royalty or associated with kingship.
Another animal along the Nile River was the crocodile. It was full of danger. It had a large snapping tail that was so powerful; it could snap most things in half. Being around the Nile River could mean serious danger for anyone because of its terrifying animals.
Pet Animals:
Many animals were pets. Pets were of help to the family. The pets had jobs in the family. Cats had to hunt and cats helped fowl in the marshes. Later on, cats started being mummified in big groups and got put in underground galleries like the Per-Bast. Dogs were also pets. They hunted, they were watch dogs, but astonishingly they were never petted. They were given separate names and many times were buried with their owners.
Geese were also sometimes used as pets. The geese thought that they