[SunkenCiv]

Thanks NYer for the topic and ping, and Blam et al for the contributions to this thread.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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[Fred Nerks]

Methinks that animal might be a cat...


While ancient Egypt provides the first written record of cats, a burial discovered on Cyprus indicates humans and felines may have become associated much earlier.

... Jean-Denis Vigne of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris believes the relationship first blossomed with the development of agricultural societies 10,000 or so years ago.

"It seems that cats probably came more and more frequently into villages where grain stocks attracted numerous mice," said Vigne.

http://www.snappingturtle.net/gigantichound/archives/004162.html

[Fred Nerks]

Another theory:

The area thought to be the Garden of Eden, which was flooded when Gulf waters arose, is shown in green. Yellow areas of Bahrain and Arabian coast represent Dilmun, paradise land of Ubaidians and Sumerians

http://www.ldolphin.org/eden/

[Fred Nerks]

The 'baskets' at the top of the illustration remind me of similar, hand-held objects:

Winged Eagle-Headed Being (Genie); Neo-Assyrian period, reign of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 B.C.), Mesopotamia; excavated at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), Alabaster (gypsum)

Also Oannes: