Symbolic roles of canine figures on early monuments

Journal article

Late predynastic Egyptian representations of canine figures on palettes and other objects can be divided into jackals, wild dogs (lycaon pictus) - which are very prominent - and domesticated dogs, among which several breeds can be distinguished. Wild dogs, which are animals of the low desert, appear to symbolize the margins of ordered cosmos; they are absent from reliefs of the dynastic period. They do not participate directly in scenes of hunting organized by human beings. The attention devoted to domesticated dogs probably relates to competition among the elite. The treatment of canine figures contrasts with that of lions. The emergence of the king at the centre of the dynastic system of decoration and the identification of king and lion influenced profoundly the presentation of canines. Canine figures of the dynastic period separate more neatly into jackals and domesticated dogs. Canine deities are jackals. They retain much of the symbolism of predynastic wild dogs, but in a different context.

Authors: Baines, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: Archéo-Nil: Société pour l'étude des cultures prépharaoniques de la vallée du Nil
• Journal: Archéo-Nil: Revue de la société pour l'étude des cultures prépharaoniques de la vallée du Nil
• Volume: 3
• Pages: 57-74
• Publication date: 1993-01-01
• Edition: Publisher's version
• Language: English
• Keywords: Canine figures; symbolism; representations od dogs; Predynastic Egypt; Lycaon pictus; Early Dynastic Egypt; Two-Dog Palette; ceremonial palettes
• Subjects: Egyptology; Oriental Studies