Genesis of Zoomorphic Images and Specifics of its Developments in Ancient Egyptian Culture

Abstract

Zoomorphic images played a crucial role in the archaic tradition. With a time as a human worldview changed, the animals’ perception, their significance and cultural place was constantly evolving. Today many theories about origins and subsequent development of animal images exist. Different speculations on how people perceive and approach animals in different historical periods circulate among cultorologists. The author’s main interest lies in the ancient and late periods of Egyptian history, where zoomorphic characters were firmly entwined with a cultural context and remained important until the end of this civilization. The main purpose of the article is to demonstrate how primitive ideas about animal world affected its further evolution and preserved in the late history of Egypt.