an investigation on dog burials in ancient Iran

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Nikzad Meysam; Rezaee Iraj; Khalili Mehdi

Title

an investigation on dog burials in ancient Iran

Author(s)

Nikzad Meysam | Rezaee Iraj | Khalili Mehdi | Issue Writer Certificate

Keywords

Dog BurialQ4

Ritual BeliefsQ4

ShamanismQ4

Ancient IranQ4

Abstract

Abstract Studies of mortuary practice mostly contemplate the rituals and religious beliefs of human societies and apply their data to recognize and evaluate hierarchical structures and where the deceased persons fit into them. Along with human burials, there have been numerous reports of animal burials such as dogs, and cats, both individually and in association with humans around the world. Dogs were the first and one of the most important animals domesticated by human beings, and their burials have frequently been documented in human settlements from the Upper Paleolithic period to the present day. Archaeological evidence indicates that dogs were the first animals domesticated by humans, and the practice of burying them is considered a universal phenomenon, as abundant samples have been discovered from different sites of the Old and New Worlds. Dog Burials occur both individually and accompanied by human skeletons, a sign of mutual social adaptation between dogs and humans. In Iran, Dog Burials have been reported at the sites of Shahr-i Sokhteh, Gohar Tappeh, Qaleh Kash of Qaemshahr, Tape Rivi, Khoramabad cemetery of Meshgin Shahr, and Narges Tape (Golestan Province). The present article outlines these burials and considers their social and ritual contexts, concluding that some seem to be ritualistic, and others can be explained by the social affinity between humans and dogs. Introduction Dogs were the first and one of the most important animals domesticatedby human beings, and their burials have frequently been documentedin human settlements from the Upper Paleolithic period to the presentday (see Crockford 2000; Morey 2006, 2014).There are many debatesregarding the time, location, ancestry, and processes of dog domestication.Some scholars (Shannon et al. 2015; Pang et al. 2009) date back thedomestication of dogs 15,000 years, while others (Germonpreet al. 2009;Druzhkovaet al. 2013; Skoglund et al. 2015) argue for a date as long as30,000 years ago. Many areas of the ancient Near East (von Holdt et al.2010), Far East (Savolainen et al. 2002; Pang et al. 2009) and severalother areas (Axelsson et al. 2013) have been proposed for the origin of dogdomestication. Given the archaeological evidence, it seems that the coevolutionof humans and dogs took place in the Upper Paleolithic period.Extensive studies across the world provide many possible reasons for the phenomenon of Dog Burial from prehistory to contemporary times in some Western countries. Based on their mythology, some scholars believe that in certain cultures dogs were assigned to guide spirits to the world of the dead. After having been a person’s companion in daily life, the dog would remain with them, serving as their guide upon their death. Since dogs were a vital part of everyday life in prehistoric times, other scholars believe they naturally made their way into the spiritual world and were therefore placed with human bodies in the burials. Another theory suggests that animal burials in general, and Dog Burials with humans in particular, are a sign of Shamanism. Citing more recent examples, some scholars have discarded the ritual aspect of Dog Burials, believing that the evidence implied that the animal deserved to be buried as a member of the human group or family. According to Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis, the human desire to pay attention to and feel connected with animals is a biological tendency. For Mornement, the notion of “biophilia” referred to an innate and genetically determined affinity of humans with the natural world as it manifests itself in their tendency to interact and form emotional attachments with other living organisms.Accordingly, animals seem to attract attention of human beings more than objects and it is assumed that paying attention to animals conferred a fitness and survival benefit from an evolutionary perspective. In Ancient Iran, dogs, like horses, camels and buffalos, are highly valued. As Ahura Mazda’s animal, the dog had a profound presence in Ancient Iranian religion. An entire chapter of the Zend Avesta is devoted to dogs – span in Avesta, svan in Sanskrit addressing their positive role, their proper training, and the punishment of those who mistreat them. In addition to Zoroastrianism, dogs are an important iconographic motif of ancient Mithraism and are one of the few animals fed by the blood of bulls killed by Mithra. This sacred scene is often related to the myth of world creation and the dog symbolizes the forces of good. Scholars believe that the roots of Mithraism are to be found in the beliefs of the inhabitants of ancient Media who occupied the northern half of modern Iran. The Medes too apparently believed in dog-sanctification. According to Herodotus (book 1: 140), the Magi (one of the six Median tribes) killed all animals with their own hands except dogs and humans. He also stated that Astyages, king of the Medes, had a shepherd named Mithradates, who along with his Median wife named Spako, meaning ‘female dog’ in Median, secretly raised Cyrus out of sight of the king.Interestingly, the same word for dog is used today in certain Iranian languages and dialects, which are common mainly in Median areas, for example, Taleshi, Sangsari, Semnani, Shahmirzadi, and Kashani. In addition, modern followers of the Yarsan (Ahl al-Haqq) religion in Guran and Qalkhani of western Kermanshah Province cook a special bread for their dogs referred to as Sapek (“dog bread”). Discussion In Iran it is clear that Dog Burials occurred in different contexts. In a simple subdivision, the burials can be divided into four groups: 1) Dogs buried with humans, such as TappehEshgh and Narges Tappeh, and the crock burial of a dog from Gohar Tappeh. 2) Dogs presented as offerings or sacrifices as at Shahr-i Sokhteh and the Khoramabad cemetery of Meshgin Shahr. 3) Simple Dog Burial without specific rituals, such as at TaleqaniTappeh of Ghaemshahr. 4) Dog carcasses that may have been accidentally buried as at TappehRivi and Gohar Tappeh (specimen A). Dogs are considered one of the first animals to have been domesticated by humans. For a variety of reasons, including their inherent loyalty to humans, dogs have held an important place in various cultures, even in religious and Ritual Beliefs. The effective and vital role of dogs in urban, rural, pastoral, and nomadic life has led in some cases to their burial with respect, much like humans, after their death, even if their burial was not a consistent tradition in ancient settlements and cannot be taken as a universal practice. Furthermore, we have seen that dogs were not the only animals to have been buried. The results of the present study show that Dog Burial in Iran was not a widespread phenomenon. Conclusion With the exception of Shahr-i Sokhteh, all Dog Burials identified in Iran have been reported from sites in the northern parts of the country and all date between the mid-third millennium BCE and the first millennium BCE. Unlike the Levantine and Mesopotamian instances where the Dog Burials were purely ritual, the burials of Shahr-i Sokhteh and Khoramabad cemetery of Meshgin Shahr were ritualistic.In fact, at thesesites, the dog played a victim role that might be reminiscent of a ritual act. The presence of the dogs in burials from sites such as Taleghani Tappeh or Gohar Tappeh, however, may reflect the animal’s strong presence in people’s lives and the owners’ attachment to their dogs. Although dogs were an important part of Ancient Iranian beliefs, the results of this study suggest that this belief did not lead to systematic and purposeful burial of dogs, and no Dog Burial has been reported at all from the Achaemenid period in Iran.

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ISSN: 2588-4824

Journal Paper

an investigation on dog burials in ancient Iran