>From:    Sue Selby <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Stickers
>Yes ferrets were used in the pyramids and kept as pets by the Egyptians.
>They were domesticated before cats.
 
No.  And no.
 
No evidence whatsoever of ferrets in Egypt which is VERY telling for a
culture that preserved an awful lot.  As far as I know the only evidence
offered for ferrets in Egypt is a single heiroglyph that is probably a
mongoose.
 
Ferrets were most likely domesticated several centuries after cats.  The
Egyptians were fanatical about not letting cats out of Egypt so when the
Europeans started civilizing to the point where they had granaries they
had to find their own answer to rats and mice in the storehouses so they
domesticated their own local rodent eaters.
 
There are still those who claim that the original color of the ferret was
the albino.  That is equally incorrect though oft repeated.  There are
still those that want to cite the passage in Leviticus in the Bible but it
too is a discredited reference.
 
Bob C is the "local expert" on this so I'll leave citations to him.  In
thefml archives you can find where he has answered all of these issues.
No credible evidence or actually no evidence credible or incredible has
been offered of the Egyptian link to ferrets.
 
-bill
--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
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[Posted in FML issue 2732]