Dogs and Men Went Mouth-to-Mouth in Old Kingdom Egypt

Submitted by owenjarus on Mon, 11/16/2009 - 13:58

Beverley Miles, a doctoral candidate at MacQuarie University in Australia, has been researching the relationship that dogs and humans had – during the time that the pyramids were built. She presented her results at an Egyptology symposium in Toronto a week ago - and they are not for those of a delicate disposition!

She’s found some pretty convincing evidence – in the form of three pieces of art – that dogs and humans shared a very close relationship.

How close?

Well, one artefact, pictured here, depicts a human male making mouth to muzzle contact with a dog.
“These objects are highly unusual,” said Miles. “Such interactions are extraordinary in the light of the renowned conservatism of Ancient Egyptian society.”

Human to human contact is rare during this time, she explained, “much less between human and animal.”

So why are the humans getting so close to dogs? In order to answer this question, Miles took a closer look at these three works of art: “Each of the images depicts an ancient Egyptian workman who not only touches the dog with his hands but also moves the animal towards him and allows it to place its muzzle against his lip and its tongue within his mouth.”

Miles said that this type of behaviour has been seen elsewhere – in the natural world. This is very similar to the weaning process that starts after six to eight weeks in dogs. At this stage the mother dog grounds up food in her teeth and allows the dog to lick the food out. This has a number of positive benefits. It helps, “facilitate pack social relations and cooperative behaviour.”

“Perhaps the ancient Egyptians observed and identified the benefits of regurgitation.”

Miles believe that the Egyptians, ever the astute observers of nature, may have caught onto this. "Perhaps the ancient Egyptians observed and identified the benefits of regurgitation.”

In other words, if you have to, it’s better to wean a puppy yourself then have the pup die or grow up to be a wild dog.
But who would take on such a gross task?

Miles analyzed painted scenes from Egypt, looking at how people interact with the dogs. The one class of people, who are depicted (literally) as being on the same level as the dogs, is the lowly workman.

“Perhaps the workman instead of the high government official had the close interactive connection to the dog and the primary relationship.”

She says that more research will be needed to prove these points. But, if she is correct, it will show that dogs, and the lowly workman, shared quite an intimate bond.

The Egyptians certainly had a complex relationship with animals. Find out how they were treated, and deified, in ancient Egypt, and check out our video below, in which Salima Ikram explains the animal cults of ancient Egypt.

Read 11 comments, or leave your own

About The Author

Owen Jarus (follow me: e-mail or

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Last three pieces by this author:

19 New Objects from King Tutankhamun's Tomb Discovered in New York | 'Unique' astronomical object reveals Ancient Egyptians kept close tabs on the Big Dipper | King Tut suffered 'massive' chest injury, new research reveals

Owen Jarus is a freelance writer based in Toronto ,Canada. He has written articles on archaeology for a variety of media outlets including The Canadian Press newswire (CP), U of T Magazine, The Mississauga News and The Guelph Mercury. Education: BA from the University of Toronto in History, Geography and Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations.

Comments

Sean Williams:

That is truly disgusting!

Mon, 16-11-2009 16:29

owenjarus:

It certainly makes working on a pyramid more attractive!

Tue, 17-11-2009 01:58

chang le :

It's true that this type of behaviour has been seen elsewhere – in the natural world. It's very interesting that this is very similar to the weaning process that starts after six to eight weeks in dogs and at this stage the mother dog grounds up food in her teeth and allows the dog to lick the food out.

Regards: french mastiff

Sat, 13-02-2010 05:28

Akhil:

This is to annoying the maen with the dog But interesting fact this is !

With Regards backlinks

Mon, 11-10-2010 11:57

Johnclave:

Thats right in ancient times there has been many such cases where we stil feel surprised as suchen a good Dr salima has given a good example thanks for sharing this post its really an interesting one

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Wed, 02-03-2011 06:02

Marcus:

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Tue, 26-04-2011 20:07

neil:

This is a strange fact to say the least, but not as strange as some other ancient cultures like say the romans. Wonder if we could find any other strange facts?

Mon, 25-07-2011 14:09

inkj:

dog's best friend.

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"The association between the ancient Egyptians and dogs is not clearly understood<a href="http://www.dominateseo.net/customer/index.php?linkwheel-link-wheel-service&cid=236">,</a> despite the animal’s early and pervasive presence in the archaeological and cultural record. Three images dated to the Sixth Dynasty depict mouth-to-muzzle contact between an ancient Egyptian workman and a dog: a two-dimensional wall scene, carved and painted in relief on the North wall of Room III in the tomb of Kagemni at Saqqara; a three-dimensional limestone model (JE 72143) from Tomb 7715a, East Field, Giza currently in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo; and a small white enstatite amulet/stamp (UC 38150) from an unknown location, currently in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London. These representations are curious finds from this conservative ancient society that rarely displayed physical contact between humans, much less between human and animal. The interpretation of these images relies on observations of animal behaviour, analyses of carved and painted wall scenes in which dogs appear in the company of humans, and comparative studies of other ancient cultures. This paper presents the author’s most recent conclusions shedding light on our understanding of the basis of the ancient Egyptian’s relationship with canids during the Old Kingdom."

Fri, 21-10-2011 02:17

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