Prehistoric and Ancient Historic Interactions
27
(2001) developed a series of arguments not only for the presence of an established
fishery for marine turtles in the early Dilmun period (2100–1900 B.C.E.), but also
for the occurrence of an organized trade in tortoiseshell, involving import centers
in Mesopotamia.
Although the textual evidence is speculative and not supported unequivocally
by the archeological data, the numbers of both eggs and turtles reported in the ancient
texts — sometimes in the thousands — need to be considered in the light of biological
understanding. The only turtles in the Arabian area that are known to occur, and
nest, in densities adequate to make the collection and transportation of thousands
of animals or their eggs an economically viable venture are marine turtles. Hence,
several lines of evidence indicate that the ancient Mesopotamian texts refer to an
organized trade in marine turtles; the evidence for tortoiseshell, however, is less
apparent.
A very different writing system was developed in ancient China. The Chinese
character for turtle, gui, clearly shows a pictogram of a chelonian, and indicates that
writing about turtles may be as old as Chinese writing itself. Texts with the turtle
character may date to the Quin (221–207 B.C.E.) and Han (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.)
dynasties (Dwe, 1981: 678).
Certain accounts by Greek authors are essential for understanding human–turtle
relations more than three millennia ago. Agatharchides of Cnidus, writing in the
third century B.C.E., described the habits of “turtle eaters” (Chelonophagi), a primitive
group of people who lived on islands, apparently in the southern extreme of the Red
Sea. Huge turtles were said to be common in the waters around the islands, where
the people caught them at sea, pulled them onto shore, cooked their innards by the
heat of the sun, and from single shells were said to make shelters, vessels for holding
water, and boats (Burstein, 1989: 85–87). This account was repeated by Pliny
(1940:187), but the claim about turtles being made into boats may derive from
misunderstanding about skin boats (Burstein, in litt., 25 February 2002), or an
exaggeration: remarkably, there are contemporary stories of children in southern
Arabia using turtle shells as “boats” (Pilcher, in litt., 8 June 2002).
An unknown author, evidently an Egyptian Greek, writing in the middle of the
first century C.E., produced what is essentially a traders’ handbook for the Indian
Ocean, particularly for luxury goods, known today as the Periplus Maris Erythraei
(Mathew, 1975; Casson, 1989: 6, 7, 15). This describes in considerable detail wellestablished, highly organized commercial enterprises, involving a great diversity of
activities and commodities in trade. One of the most important items, for shipping
back to the Egypt and the Mediterranean, was tortoiseshell: it was traded in all the
major ports that were described, including those in the Red Sea, the horn and east
coast of Africa, the southern coast of Arabia, as well as India, Sri Lanka, and Malay
or Sumatra (Casson, 1989: 17, 101). Indeed, “Tortoise shell 7 receives more mention
in the Periplus than any other object of trade,” and “the finest quality was brought
to Muziris/Nelkynda all the way from Malay to be made available to Western
7 The term used in the Periplus was “chelone,” which commonly refers to the animal, but in the context
it is interpreted as referring to the product of the turtle (Casson, personal comunication; Margaritoulis,
in litt., 13 June 2002).
1123_C01.fm Page 27 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM
27
(2001) developed a series of arguments not only for the presence of an established
fishery for marine turtles in the early Dilmun period (2100–1900 B.C.E.), but also
for the occurrence of an organized trade in tortoiseshell, involving import centers
in Mesopotamia.
Although the textual evidence is speculative and not supported unequivocally
by the archeological data, the numbers of both eggs and turtles reported in the ancient
texts — sometimes in the thousands — need to be considered in the light of biological
understanding. The only turtles in the Arabian area that are known to occur, and
nest, in densities adequate to make the collection and transportation of thousands
of animals or their eggs an economically viable venture are marine turtles. Hence,
several lines of evidence indicate that the ancient Mesopotamian texts refer to an
organized trade in marine turtles; the evidence for tortoiseshell, however, is less
apparent.
A very different writing system was developed in ancient China. The Chinese
character for turtle, gui, clearly shows a pictogram of a chelonian, and indicates that
writing about turtles may be as old as Chinese writing itself. Texts with the turtle
character may date to the Quin (221–207 B.C.E.) and Han (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.)
dynasties (Dwe, 1981: 678).
Certain accounts by Greek authors are essential for understanding human–turtle
relations more than three millennia ago. Agatharchides of Cnidus, writing in the
third century B.C.E., described the habits of “turtle eaters” (Chelonophagi), a primitive
group of people who lived on islands, apparently in the southern extreme of the Red
Sea. Huge turtles were said to be common in the waters around the islands, where
the people caught them at sea, pulled them onto shore, cooked their innards by the
heat of the sun, and from single shells were said to make shelters, vessels for holding
water, and boats (Burstein, 1989: 85–87). This account was repeated by Pliny
(1940:187), but the claim about turtles being made into boats may derive from
misunderstanding about skin boats (Burstein, in litt., 25 February 2002), or an
exaggeration: remarkably, there are contemporary stories of children in southern
Arabia using turtle shells as “boats” (Pilcher, in litt., 8 June 2002).
An unknown author, evidently an Egyptian Greek, writing in the middle of the
first century C.E., produced what is essentially a traders’ handbook for the Indian
Ocean, particularly for luxury goods, known today as the Periplus Maris Erythraei
(Mathew, 1975; Casson, 1989: 6, 7, 15). This describes in considerable detail wellestablished, highly organized commercial enterprises, involving a great diversity of
activities and commodities in trade. One of the most important items, for shipping
back to the Egypt and the Mediterranean, was tortoiseshell: it was traded in all the
major ports that were described, including those in the Red Sea, the horn and east
coast of Africa, the southern coast of Arabia, as well as India, Sri Lanka, and Malay
or Sumatra (Casson, 1989: 17, 101). Indeed, “Tortoise shell 7 receives more mention
in the Periplus than any other object of trade,” and “the finest quality was brought
to Muziris/Nelkynda all the way from Malay to be made available to Western
7 The term used in the Periplus was “chelone,” which commonly refers to the animal, but in the context
it is interpreted as referring to the product of the turtle (Casson, personal comunication; Margaritoulis,
in litt., 13 June 2002).
1123_C01.fm Page 27 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM