Shell plaque with ibexes

This is a shell plaque found in Queen Pu-abi's tomb dated to c. 2600 BC. It shows ibexes rearing up on their hind legs on both sides of the tree of life topped by the eight-pointed rosette....

This of course is not just a decorative object...

This is climate chart for Southern Mesopotamia...

The rain/snow season in Mesopotamia, which supports (tree of) life in Mesopotamia, starts in Oct/Nov. And it coincides with the beginning of the mating season of Ibex goats...Mating season which is marked by mad male goat fights...

Hence Ibex goat became animal calendar marker for the rain season (The Goat of Rain) and eventually became symbol of fertility and prosperity and royal power that depended on this fertility and prosperity...

I talked about this in many posts such as, "Problems with Abzu", "Relief from Dur Sharrukin", "Goatfish", "Flamingos from Susa", "Goat carrier", "Iranian goat of rain", "Strider", "A vessel from Tepe Hissar" 

And many more...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...