The symbolic role of the deer in ancient Anatolia, Iran, Caucasus and Central Asia

In the process of defining epistemological frameworks to be used for determining ways of relating material culture to the religious dimension of ancient societies (i.e., the materialization of religious beliefs), it is of great importance to establish a wider network of elements that would include not only material culture, but also natural phenomena and non-human beings. Accordingly, scholars should try to better understand the agency embodied by non-human beings in framing human religiosity, and, especially, in defining the role played by natural animate and inanimate elements, such as animals, in the materialization of religious beliefs among ancient societies. In particular, interested scholars should investigate the relationship between nature and culture using perspectives that are different from a traditional western one that envisions human domination over the natural environment as central to expressions of human thought. Thus, in this paper I will propose a new understanding of the active role that animals have in shaping human religiosity, and, more specifically, I will aim at investigating and interpreting the symbolic role played by the deer in the practice of ceremonial and ritual activities by ancient Anatolian, Iranian, Transcaucasian and Central Asian societies.