A prehistoric species of cattle, Aurochs (Bos primigenius) rules Europe and much of Asia in the ancient world. The last known Aurochs is killed in 16th century Poland. Taller than a man, with thick chest and death-dealing horns the Aurochs is a powerful entity.
Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
See also:
In the Neolithic, aurochs exist throughout Eurasia and North Africa. The prehistoric Cult of the Bull is one of the earliest forms of widespread nature worship, along with the Bear culture. The Bull is a creature of abundance, associated with virility, fertility, gods and kings.
Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
A symbol of masculinity, Bull represents the Sun and the divinity therein, power, dominance, wealth, wisdom, protection and life itself. The Bull takes energy from cosmic forces, passionate nature and the ferocity of divine solar fire.
See also:
He relates to the rhythm of the Earth and his horns represent the crescent moon of the sky. He's often found in the company of birds. Some believe the sperm of the bull runs through his bones.
The earliest signs of bull worship or sacrifice come from the prospering Neolithic town Çatalhöyük in Anatolia. Before the Bronze Age the Aurochs are plentiful in the area and regarded as sacred animals.
See also:
The wild ancestor of domestic cattle, the Aurochs is part of the Pleistocene megafauna of c. 50,000 -10,000 BCE. Other animals at the time include mammoths, saber-toothed cats, woolly rhinoceros and American lions. Many mega-fauna die out during the Great Extinction.
Aurochs appear in Paleolithic cave paintings, petroglyphs of the Neolithic, relief works of ancient Egypt and Bronze Age figurines. The great horns of the Aurochs, up to the length of a man's arm, are used by early people as trophies, offerings and drinking horns.
See also:
A feast of Aurochs meat is a Neolithic and tribal version of the community barbecue. Everyone gathers for a great banquet of divine bull. The Bull is a sacrifice worthy of the Gods, an earthly representative or manifestation of the primal god himself.
Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
Blood of the Bull, the essence of life, flows into the earth, as if the Mother Goddess takes the Bull as husband, to produce abundance such as crops, wild and domestic animals for the use of humans. Blood does nourish the soil, as use of blood meal fertilizer shows.
See also:
The wild aurochs is first domesticated by humans c. 8500 BCE. The two major domestication areas are Anatolia and the region of today's Pakistan.
According to DNA tests, today's cattle all come from as few as 80 animals domesticated from wild Aurochs in the Near East. Cattle were used for commerce and barter and set a standard of pricing and specific barter value.
See also:
By the early Bronze Age, around 3300 BCE, the Bull Apis gains favor in Egypt. He's worshipped in Memphis as a living god. By this time, domestic cattle groups are forming new identities. The wild Aurochs still roams the northern steppes.
Aurochs form herds in winter and break up into smaller groups or individuals when the weather warms up. Bulls can fight to the death for dominance of territory and breeding rights. Wild Aurochs are subject to attacks by wolves or bears.
See also:
A healthy adult is too difficult for predators to kill. Wolves try to separate a calf from its mother in a strategy attack or to dispatch a weak adult. Bears will take a calf if they can. Predators might follow a herd in snow season, waiting for opportunity.
Cattle are bigger in ancient times. Only during the Middle Ages, after centuries of animal husbandry and adaption, do they reach their current size. Aurochs decline and extinction correspond with habitational spread of early humans.
See also:
Today the largest cattle are from the Chianina breed of Italy. Adult males are known to weigh up to 3300 lb (1500 kg).
See also: