During my last library visit I picked up an interesting book called Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History by Eric Chaline. And as often happens this book inspired my TT topic for this week.
Thirteen Animals That Changed History
1. Mosquito – the tropical vampire! Hundreds of thousands of people die each year from malaria, a disease passed on by the mosquito. As someone who has had malaria, I can tell you that it’s no fun! I thought I was going to die.
2. Silkworm – Chinese legend says silk was discovered when Empress Leizu was drinking tea in her garden. A silkworm cocoon fell into her tea cup and started to unravel. This is probably untrue, but silk production has been around for over five thousand years in China. Silk reached the west when silkworm eggs were smuggled out of China.
3. Cow – the author puts the cow at the top of his list. It’s edible, providing us with meat, milk and cheese. We use hides for clothes. It’s important in some religions and they’re used in some forms of entertainment—rodeos and bull fighting.
4. Camel – the camel is also edible and used as a beast of burden. It’s a practical animal in desert areas because it is adapted to preserve water. Still used in Middle Eastern countries as transport and work animals.
5. Dog – man’s best friend. Dogs are used in the military. They’re used on farms to help with stock and in some societies they provide food. Our puppy is my day companion and gets me out exercising.
6. Pigeon – they’re both edible and practical. Their homing instincts have made them useful during times of war and to carry communications from one place to another.
7. Horse – another edible animal, the horse is used for commercial and practical reasons. Horses are used for transport (mostly before cars) and also as work animals. These days horses are mainly sports related e.g. horse racing, show jumping, rodeos. They are also used on farms. My father rides his horse around the stock several days a week. Horses were also used during war time from ancient to fairly recent times.
8. Cat – although the cat doesn’t provide any significant benefits, it’s highly regarded as a domestic animal. Cats are useful in keeping mice and rats under control. Many cats were killed during the 14th century in Britain because they were thought to bring bad luck and disease. There was also the witchcraft aspect. This led to an explosion in the rat population and many people died of the plague. (caused by the fleas on rats)
9. Chicken – chickens were domesticated around 10,000 years ago in Asia. Throughout history chickens and their eggs have been used for food. In some societies chickens are used as entertainment i.e. cock fighting. Chickens have been associated with avian flu virus (Spanish Flu which killed between 50 – 100 million people of all ages world wide)
10. Leech – medicinal. For a long time the leech was the most important tool for doctors. Personally I’d prefer to stay far away from leeches!
11. Earthworm – very important in agriculture and farming. They aerate the soil, recycle organic material into the soil and their excretions enrich the soil. Worms are also important as a food source for many birds.
12. Rabbit – used as a source of food and protein, often during economic depression. The fur is also used for clothing. Rabbits are often kept as pets, but in some areas they are responsible for complete destruction of habitat, especially in countries where rabbits have been introduced.
13. Sheep – used for food and their wool. Sheep have been around for centuries and are important to many cultures. We have a lot of sheep in New Zealand, although numbers have decreased in recent years. Popular animal for calf club days. When I was five I had a pet lamb called Belinda. Together, we were an unstoppable force and won many red ribbons!
This is only a small selection. What animal do you think is most important to humans?
July 5th, 2012 at 6:31 am · Link
Wow, that is so neat. Again your fantastic post has taught me something great. I thank you.
July 5th, 2012 at 6:51 pm · Link
I found the book really interesting, Savannah. I love browsing the shelves in the library. You never know what you might find.
July 5th, 2012 at 7:29 am · Link
First of all, your title is a bit weird, it’s written like this in my computer> Cache directory “/home/shelleym/public_html/blog/wp-content/plugins/ttftitles/cache” is not writable.Animals That Changed History
THis is an interesting Thursday Thirteen…I love animals and reading this is a joy for me. I should add that here in Indonesia, more people died of dengue fever (also caused by mosquito) rather than Malaria.
If this is my list, I would force add Turtle as the animal that change my perspective on reptiles. I love turtles
July 5th, 2012 at 6:56 pm · Link
I’m not sure what’s up with that. I’m working on fixing it. Thanks!
I love turtles too. They’re very cool, and it’s magical seeing them in the wild.
I think dengue fever is bad in parts of Australia too. Mosquitoes aren’t nice to have around.
July 5th, 2012 at 8:28 am · Link
Cats were very highly regarded and used in ancient Egypt to keep the rodent population under control. Helped to keep the people of Egypt from starving; I’d say that’s pretty significant. Also, many farms (and businesses) still use cats as mousers.
July 5th, 2012 at 6:57 pm · Link
Cara,
My father says the wild cats at his farm are very good at keeping the vermin under control.
July 5th, 2012 at 10:03 am · Link
I have a coworker that maintains a farm and she’s always talking about her tomcats keeping the rats out of her barn :-)
I don’t know if goats would be considered high on the list, but they produce milk and from what I hear, also do a good job as nature’s version of a lawn mower.
July 5th, 2012 at 6:59 pm · Link
Goats were in the book too. You can also have cheese and use the fur from them for clothing.
July 5th, 2012 at 2:33 pm · Link
A cat version of this TT might list humans as adding few significant benefits to the history of the world and suggest they are difficult to domesticate fully.
July 5th, 2012 at 7:00 pm · Link
LOL Cats are very much their own masters, aren’t they?
July 5th, 2012 at 5:07 pm · Link
I’d never stopped to think about how animals have shaped human development. Fascinating.
July 5th, 2012 at 7:00 pm · Link
When you think about it, we’re very reliant on some of them.
July 5th, 2012 at 7:43 pm · Link
An interesting post as always. And hey–cats are great stress reducers. Usually.
July 9th, 2012 at 3:07 pm · Link
Good point, Heather. Our puppy works the same way with relieving stress. She loves a cuddle or a walk.
July 5th, 2012 at 8:35 pm · Link
I can’t decide which animal is most important. Animals in general are important. Hard to picture a world without dogs, cats, horses, cows, etc.
July 9th, 2012 at 3:07 pm · Link
It is hard to imagine the world without animals because we do depend on them so much.
July 6th, 2012 at 4:17 am · Link
I don’t think I can choose one singular animal as most important. As a homesteader, I’d rely on several.
Chickens are the easiest and provide many nutrients. Goats provide milk and hide.
But fish seem to have the most health benefits–as long as they’re not full of mercury.
Oy. It’s always something. LOL.
July 9th, 2012 at 3:06 pm · Link
It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? The book was a fascinating read.
July 8th, 2012 at 5:10 pm · Link
I didn’t realize you’ve had malaria. Do some symptoms come back on you or are you completely over it?
July 9th, 2012 at 3:05 pm · Link
Sandra,
Yes, I had cerebral malaria, and it was nasty. These days the treatment generally takes care of the problem. I haven’t had any reoccurence of the malaria. Thankfully!