[gleeaikin]

Does anyone know whether the use of a bulls head design started on Crete or the mainland? I would suspect the mainland. We have seen the magnificent art of the cave paintings from 20 and 30 thousand years ago. I’m sure the giant Aurochs which are now extinct figured in the awe in which such beasts were held. Found this Wiki article which has pictures, skeletons, and detailed genetic history of aurochs and modern cattle, and species restoration breeding projects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs

[SunkenCiv]

The use of a bull can be seen in prehistoric art (as you mentioned, the cave paintings), but there's no reason that it couldn't have arisen independently each time bulls were introduced. If the image came from the mainland, it seems likely that it came from Anatolia, along with the people who brought it.

• Cretan tools point to 130,000-year-old sea travel
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