Animal husbandry during the Old and Middle Kingdoms in Ancient Egypt: a thesis in two volumes

The most important development in the history of civilization was the shift from the traditional "Hunter-Gatherer" lifestyle to one of ordered settlement and the domestication of plant and animal species. One of the parameters that can be used to test the maturity of a civilisation is the relationship that exists between the people and the domesticated animals that they maintain, and their importance to that society. This dissertation explores these animal husbandry practices and their relevance in the daily life of the Egyptians of the Old and Middle Kingdoms and their modern day parallels, of which there are many. Such a study is paramount in understanding how the ancient Egyptians ministered to their herds and developed their unique understanding of farmed animal behaviour. By an examination of scenes of daily life taken from chapel and tomb wall art as they relate to animal husbandry practices from the Old and Middle Kingdoms of ancient Egypt this thesis attempts to compare and contrast these illustrated practices with "modern" day examples, where applicable. In many cases, this research has indicated that nothing has changed over the period of 5,000 years in many parts of this world, thus emphasising that the ancient Egyptians were highly advanced and skilled in their understanding of those animals that were the focus of their husbandry practices. These practices are the basis of many activities that are still in vogue in parts of the developed world -- abstract.