Dr Nathalie BrusgaardAug 29, 2023
I'm now on Mastodon so time for an #Introduction post. Hi! I'm an archaeologist and I research our relationship with animals through time. I examine animal remains 🦴, do biochemical analyses 🔬, and study iconography 🎨 I work(ed) on 🐄🐖🐪🦌🦦 and plan to study many more!
#archaeology #animals #scicomm
Show threadRichard RatheAug 29, 2023

@brusgaard

Say more about the rock art if you can. 👍

Show threadDr Nathalie Brusgaard
@richardrathe it's a carving of a dromedary camel, about 2000 years old, from Jordan. Camel carvings are very common in ancient Arabia 😊
Aug 31, 2023 at 4:21pmWeb
Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsDec 5, 2023
@brusgaard @richardrathe
This gets me to thinking… I have seen a lot of rock art, especially in the US Southwest where beavers were once very common. I have never seen any depictions of beavers nor heard of any in rock art. Have you? It seems like a huge oversight on their part 😂🦫
Show threadDr Nathalie BrusgaardDec 5, 2023
@Mikal @richardrathe no me neither! Other types of iconography like figurines but indeed no rock art
Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsDec 6, 2023
@brusgaard @richardrathe
PNW Native tribes have beavers all over their art. It seems really odd that they aren't more common elsewhere. Most people nowadays don't think of beavers as desert animals, but they were hugely influential in shaping the riparian places people lived in the U.S. Southwest for thousands of years.
(Love the camel petroglyph, btw!)
Show threadRichard RatheDec 7, 2023

@Mikal @brusgaard

I have access to a few more academic “survey” type book on N American rock art. When next see that friend I’ll have a look and re-post here. Thx.

Show threadRichard RatheDec 14, 2023

@Mikal @brusgaard

Just just went thru the indexes of two SW #RockArt books and... no #beavers. 🙁

Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsDec 14, 2023

@richardrathe @brusgaard

Oh well. If you look up PNW Native art + beaver, their historical art as well as contemporary art is full of beavers. They're on old, pre-white totem poles, for example. I wonder about beavers on pre-colonial pottery?

Show threadDr Nathalie BrusgaardDec 11, 2023
@Mikal @richardrathe Fascinating! Thank you, that's really interesting. I worked on a petroglyph survey in AZ a few years ago but we didn't find any beaver petroglyphs sadly.