Bears and people: from the wilderness to dancing
Author(s): Hannah O'Regan
Year: 2017
Summary
There has been a very strong relationship between human societies and the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in many different places and cultures. The bear has had multiple roles in European societies, from the ancient (and modern) epitome of the wild, through religious symbol to the arenas of the Roman Empire, and their later use as entertainment. At what point does the bear’s position change in society from an animal to be feared, to one to be mocked? In terms of captive management, a fully grown bear would require considerable space and food. How and where were these captive bears kept? Did they survive into adulthood, and what is the evidence for taming? These issues will be examined here using evidence from zooarchaeology, material culture and iconography.
Cite this Record
Bears and people: from the wilderness to dancing. Hannah O'Regan. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, British Columbia. 2017 ( tDAR id: 430486)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Human-Animal Interactions
•
Zooarchaeology
Geographic Keywords
Europe
Spatial Coverage
min long: -11.074; min lat: 37.44 ; max long: 50.098; max lat: 70.845 ;
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 15092