IF ANTS ARE NUMEROUS IN A MAN‘S HOUSE … Observations on Structure and Meaning in Mesopotamian Animal Omina (original) (raw)
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Despite the ubiquitous presence and vital role of invertebrates in all known ecological systems, insects and arachnids are largely viewed as repugnant by people. Consequently, until nature intervenes in the form of infestations, swarms or plagues, we largely prefer to ignore them, lest our attention invite unwelcome interaction. In contrast, the people of ancient Egypt did not distance themselves from invertebrates but instead celebrated their myriad forms. Egyptian appreciation of insects and arachnids is reflected in a range of art, artefacts, and texts dating from the predynastic era until the Greco-Roman period, revealing many positive cultural roles, from practical to conceptual. By assigning them a useful function, they were rendered visible and relevant to Egyptian society. The Egyptians’ example suggests that as necessity forces us to acknowledge the value of invertebrates—from their function as pollinators to becoming future food sources—our respect for them may also grow.
Entomological knowledge in ancient Mesopotamia
Ancient Near Eastern Studies, 2023
A review of Mesopotamian textual corpora and iconographic material from prehistory to the end of cuneiform era reveals an abundant presence of insects in many aspects of Mesopotamian daily life, from food and medicine to literature and mathematics, as well as in mythology, divination, omens and rituals. Entomological information contained in cuneiform tablets, including knowledge of metamorphosis, is investigated and insect symbolism in ancient Mesopotamia is discussed.*
The Seven Attendants of Hendursaĝa: A study of animal symbolism in Mesopotamian cultures (draft)
L. Verderame, The Seven Attendants of Hendursaĝa: A study of animal symbolism in Mesopotamian cultures, L. Feliu - F. Karahashi - G. Rubio, The First Ninety Years: A Sumerian Celebration in Honor of Miguel Civil (SANER 12), De Gruyter, Berlin, 2017, 396-415, 2017
The almost complete Sumerian hymn 1 dedicated to the god Hendursaĝa contains a long section in which the god is described as a guardian of the night and a psychopomp. 2 In these functions the god is assisted by three groups of seven beings. The first heptad (ll. 78–84), whose components are called " warriors " (ur-saĝ) and may well be related to the later seven demons (Sebettu), 3 are described as sharing features and acting like animals. In this article I will analyse each of the seven animals and their features mentioned in the description of the Seven (the fox, the dog, the raven, the vulture, the wolf, the owl, and the shark), discussing parallels from Sumerian and Akkadian literature in order to highlight how animal symbolism works in ancient Mesopotamia.
Composite animals in Mesopotamia as cultural symbols
Composite Artefacts in the Ancient Near East Exhibiting an imaginative materiality, showing a genealogical nature, edited by Silvana Di Paolo , 2018
Composite animals are the product of our thought processes. They are nonexistent in reality but their occurrence is observed universally. They exhibit a body structure that consists of multiple body parts taken from different animals of reality in order to form a single creature. This study focuses on a particular type of composite animal – the lion dragon – to elucidate its symbolic function through artistic and textual descriptions, and also its predecessor, the lion-headed eagle. A peculiar pose held by the creature is examined in order to reveal its specific role associated with an auditory aspect of the thunderstorm. The importance of the creature’s leonine head is indicated by the application of a special material (gold) to the head of the lion-headed eagle in some artefacts manufactured with composite materials.
I will first show why ants could teach us something about culture as a means of immortality. My view on culture is influenced by Ernst Cassirer and Susanne Langer (and Herder and Mendelssohn, to reach further back). My view on ants, limited as it is, is influenced by Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene (1976), a book that my biology teacher back in high school recommended to me, and that has somewhat stuck with me for all those years. I am indeed taking up his ideas of memes, and will try to consider how a more ant-like way of understanding their function could help us expand our notion of individuals within culture.
Animals are often mentioned as ingredients in the medical cuneiform tablets. This paper summarizes several aspects implied by the study of Fauna in the frame of Mesopotamian medicine. It consists of a brief introduction, focusing on three main aspects: firstly, what we find in the Assyro-Babylonian medical texts regarding animals; then, we will make a short presentation of the Decknamen theorie, which assumes that some animal names could in fact designate plants. The consequences of such a hypothesis are examined along with our methods to prove or disprove this theory on a case-by-case study; finally, we will state preliminary conclusions about the use of animals and their products in the Assyro-Babylonian medicine.
Winged ant on a silver bangle Indus Script hypertext రెక్కలచీమ a winged ant rebus: cīmara -- kāra -- ʻcoppersmithʼ eraka 'metal infusion' https://tinyurl.com/bvydkhct The winged ant on the bangle is an Indus Script hypertext to signify the copper mint of a coppersmith. skambha 'wing' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint'; eraka 'wing' rebus: eraka 'metal infusion' PLUS రెక్కలచీమ a winged ant rebus: cīmara -- kāra -- ʻcoppersmithʼ eraka 'wing': Ta. ciṟai, ciṟaku, ciṟakar wing; iṟai, iṟaku, iṟakar, iṟakkai wing, feather. Ma. iṟaku, ciṟaku wing. Ko. rek wing, feather. Ka. eṟake, eṟaṅke, ṟakke, ṟekke wing; ṟaṭṭe, ṟeṭṭe wing, upper arm. Koḍ. rekke wing; raṭṭe upper arm. Tu. ediṅke, reṅkè wing. Te. eṟaka, ṟekka, rekka, neṟaka, neṟi id. Kol. reḍapa, (SR.) reppā id.; (P.) reṛapa id., feather. Nk. rekka, reppa wing. Pa. (S.) rekka id. Go. (S.) rekka wing-feather; reka (M.) feather, (Ko.) wing (Voc. 3045). Konḍa ṟeka wing, upper arm. Kuwi (Su.) rekka wing. Cf. 1983 Ko. kerŋgl and 3424 To. tergy.(DEDR 2591) rebus: eraka ‘molten cast, copper’ Hieroglyph: wings: *skambha ʻ shoulder -- blade, wing, plumage ʼ. [Cf. *skapa -- s.v. *khavaka -- ] S. khambhu, °bho m. ʻ plumage ʼ, khambhuṛi f. ʻ wing ʼ; L. khabbh m., mult. khambh m. ʻ shoulder -- blade, wing, feather ʼ, khet. khamb ʻ wing ʼ, mult. khambhaṛā m. ʻ fin ʼ; P. khambh m. ʻ wing, feather ʼ; G. khā̆m f., khabhɔ m. ʻ shoulder ʼ.(CDIAL 13640) Rebus; Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. (DEDR 1236) Nirjharaḥ Mukhopādhyāyaḥ 22 March 2021 মিশরের রানী প্রথম হেটেফেরেস এর রূপার বালা। ৪৬০০ বছর আগের। এতে পাথর খোদাই করে প্রজাপতির সুন্দর নক্সা করা আছে। Materials: Silver, Torquise, Lapis lazuli, and Carnelian. এই সময় ভারতে ছিল পরিণত হরপ্পা যুগ (Integration Harappan Period) এবং উপরের প্রতিটি উপাদানের ব্যবহার এখানেও ছিল। https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1184370748691605&set=gm.1102584260242372 h260A,B 4345Text இறகெறும்பு iṟakeṟumpu , n. < id. + எறும்பு. Winged red ant, Drepanognathus saltator; சிறகுள்ள எறும்பு. (M. M.)(Tamil) చీమ [ cīma ] chīma. [Tel.] n. An ant. కొండచీమ. the forest ant. రెక్కలచీమ a winged ant. పారేచీమను వింటాడు he can hear an ant crawl, i.e., he is all alive.చీమదూరని అడవి a forest impervious even to an ant. చలిచీమ a black ant; పై పారేపక్షి కిందపారే చీమ (proverb) The bird above, the ant below, i.e., I had no chance with him. చీమంత of the size of an ant. చీమపులి chīma-puli. n. The ant lion, an ant-eater. చీముంత [ cīmunta ] chīmunta.. [Tel.] n. A metal vessel. చెంబు. †cīmara -- ʻ copper ʼ in cīmara -- kāra -- ʻ coppersmith ʼ in Saṁghāṭa -- sūtra Gilgit MS. 37 folio 85 verso, 3 (= zaṅs -- mkhan in Tibetan Pekin text Vol. 28 Japanese facsimile 285 a 3 which in Mahāvyutpatti 3790 renders śaulbika -- BHS ii 533. But the Chinese version (Taishō issaikyō ed. text no. 423 p. 971 col. 3, line 2) has t'ie ʻ iron ʼ: H. W. Bailey 21.2.65). [The Kaf. and Dard. word for ʻ iron ʼ appears also in Bur. čhomār, čhumər. Turk. timur (NTS ii 250) may come from the same unknown source. Semant. cf. lōhá -- ]Ash. ċímä, ċimə ʻ iron ʼ (ċiməkára ʻ blacksmith ʼ), Kt. čimé;, Wg. čümāˊr, Pr. zíme, Dm. čimár(r), Paš.lauṛ. čimāˊr, Shum. čímar, Woṭ. Gaw. ċimár,Kal. čīmbar, Kho. čúmur, Bshk. čimer, Tor. čimu, Mai. sē̃war, Phal. čímar, Sh.gil. čimĕr (adj. čĭmārí), gur. čimăr m., jij. čimer, K. ċamuru m. (adj.ċamaruwu).(CDIAL 14496) Kalibangan 080 Seal impression 8120 Text m0143 Mohenjo-Daro seal 2002 Text Source: A dozen Indus Script inscriptions (incl. m495 text of 26 signs) with vivid pictorial hypertexts, metalwork wealth-accounting ledgers https://tinyurl.com/y8jernfy PETER BRESLOW April 18, 20217 Indian Jumping Ant. Worker of H. saltator killing a foreign queen (top) Carrying a flower of Elaeocarpus to the nest entrance The Incredible Shrinking And Growing Brains Of Indian Jumping Ants See: https://www.livescience.com/ants-shrink-then-regrow-brain-for-royalty.html JAMES DOUBEK Twitter Researchers have shown that the Indian jumping ant can shrink and regrow its brain. New research on ants has shown a first in insects: the ability to shrink and then regrow their brains in a big way. It relates to how these particular ants, called Harpegnathos saltator, or the Indian jumping ant, reproduce. "In most ants, the queen is the only member of the colony that lays eggs," says Clint Penick, an assistant professor of biology at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. "The workers just do all of the hunting and take care of the babies and all of the chores in the colony. But the queen is the only one who reproduces. And when she dies, the colony dies." THE TWO-WAY WATCH: Ants Act As Medics, Treat Wounds Of Injured Nest-Mates Not so for this type of ant, native to India. Their worker ants have the ability to mate and reproduce. So when the Indian jumping ant queen dies, "it actually triggers a dominance tournament. And they'll fight each other over a month to decide who's going to be the next ant to replace the queen." (These are all females we're talking about. The males really aren't involved in anything here except mating and dying.) The queen doesn't have an exact replacement. A handful of tournament winners — called "gamergates" — all assume queen-like duties of laying eggs. Penick and his colleagues found that when the ants take on the role of gamergate, their brains shrink by 19% on average. The shrinkage likely happens so that they can save energy to focus on producing eggs. Hormones trigger additional changes in the ants, including larger ovaries, less venom production and much longer lifespans.
Swarming ants and their kin in the Old Javanese kakawin literature
e paper discusses insect imagery pertaining to two kinds of ants, the laru-laru and the kararangga, in the Old Javanese kakawin court poetry. Laru-laru denotes a winged form of male ants, airborne for a short mating period when males aggregate in huge, cloudlike swarms. Kararangga designates several species of red tree ants. A common literary image of swarming ants, ying headlong into the ames of re or lamp, is attested in several kakawin, while the image of ghting kararangga red tree ants seems to be exclusive to one passage of the anonymous, possibly 13 century, Bhomāntaka. Swarming laru-laru ants, dying in the ames of re, reminded poets of desperate amok attacks, a strategy regularly ascribed to diverse forms of demonic rākṣasas and warriors ghting for them. Both images are found predominantly in the war passages, and I argue that Javanese and Balinese poets used this ant imagery in an allegorical way in order to ridicule political enemies of their patrons. Unpublished sources: Abhimanyuwiwāha, CB 40 [transliterated by Soegiarto in BCB 26] Hariśraya B, LOr 4234 [transliterated by Soegiarto in BCB prtf 23] Kālayawanantaka, LOr 5104 [transliterated by Soegiarto in BCB prtf 23]