The African Elephants of Antiquity Revisited: Habitat and Representational Evidence

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The African Elephants of Antiquity Revisited: Habitat and Representational Evidence
Charles, Michael B.

From the journal Historia Historia, Volume 69, December 2020, issue 4

Published by Franz Steiner Verlag

article, 7680 Words
Original language: English
Historia 2020, pp 392-407
https://doi.org/10.25162/historia-2020-0017

Abstract Related content References

Abstract

It has generally been assumed since the 1950s that the African elephant known to classical antiquity, and thus the one used, inter alia, by Carthage and Ptolemaic Egypt, is the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), which is even smaller in stature than the Asian or Indian elephant. Yet a recent scientific study using DNA evidence has asserted that it was the larger bush or savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) that was used in antiquity. This study adduces literary sources pertaining to habitat and representational evidence to explore the issue of the most likely species of African elephant known to the ancient Mediterranean world.

Author information

Michael B. Charles

Keywords

bush elephant | forest elephant | warfare | habitat | representational evidence

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