Camel and buffalo

Plaque with Bactrian Camel, North China, 2nd–1st century B.C., North China, Gilt bronze...

E what about the buffalo head? Anyone? Let's try animal calendar markers...

Both wild bactrian camel and wild buffalo are animal calendar markers pointing to the same time of the year, Oct/Nov, because both species start mating in Oct/Nov...

This is an article about Bactrian camel, and how it became a calendar marker for Oct/Nov and winter in general in Bactria... 

This is an article about animal calendar markers (including Bactrian camel) depicted on this Bronze mirror found in the Volga River region, Russia, and dated to the 8th-7th century BC...

In this article I explain (using animal calendar markers) why on this Roman mosaic from Tunisia, dated to 2nd century AD we see Dionysus riding a lion, followed by Silenus riding a camel, followed by a leopard on a leash...

I first talked about buffalo as an animal calendar marker for Oct/Nov, in this article about Asura (demon) Mahisha whose name means buffalo. Oct/Nov marks the start of the dry season. He is killed by Durga, riding on a lion (Leo, Jul/Aug, peak monsoon season)...

This animal calendar could have already been mythologised in Indus Valley civilisation...I talked about this in this article about this 3rd mill BC Harappan tablet...  

I then talked about buffalo as an animal calendar marker for Oct/Nov with positive connotation (Mesopotamia has the opposite climate to India, so Oct/Nov marks start of wet season) in this article about this cool Akkadian seal...

And in this article about this Akkadian cylinder seal from the 3rd millennium BC, where buffalos are depicted drinking from a jar overflowing with water... 

I also talked about buffalo as an animal calendar marker containing both Mesopotamian and Indian meanings associated with buffalo in this article about this 5th c. BC Achaemenid cylinder seal...

And in this article about this 3rd millennium BC seal from Hurian city of Urkesh, Syria with two opposite calendar markers, equid and buffalo...

Finally I talked about buffalo and tiger animal calendar markers in this article about this 13-11 c. BC bronze figurine of wild water buffalo with a tiger on its back from Hunan...

As I said, "All our mythologies are the result of the fact that people are very good at noticing patterns in nature while simultaneously being very bad at distinguishing between correlation and causation 🙂"

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...