Editing Ibex (section)

==History==
Evidence of the ibex is widely present in the [[archaeological]] record. The earliest known artifacts featuring the ibex are from the Harappan civilization and are rare. A seal from the Harappan region of [[Cholistan]] has been dated between 2500–2000 [[Common_Era|BCE]].<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=8 February 2012 |title=Rare Ibex Seal of Indus Valley Era Unearthed in Pakistan |url=https://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/indus-steatite-seal |website=Archeology Online |access-date=5 March 2025}}</ref> Twin Ibexes are seen under the seat of the 'Pashupati' figure on a seal from [[Mohenjodaro]],  ca. 2000–1900 BCE.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fairservis Jr. |first=Walter |date=July 1986 |title=Cattle and the Harappan Chiefdoms of the Indus Valley |url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/cattle-and-the-harappan-chiefdoms-of-the-indus-valley/ |website=Penn Museum |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |access-date=5 March 2025}}</ref> An ibex also features in a composite seal along with other animals, described by Dr J.M. Kenoyer on page 194 of his 1998 book titled "Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization".<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=Composite Seal|url=https://www.harappa.com/slide/composite-seal |website=Harappa.com |location= |publisher= |access-date=5 March 2025}}</ref>

Ibex motifs are very common on [[cylinder seal]]s and pottery, both painted and embossed, from the [[Near East]] and [[Mediterranean]] regions. Excavations from [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[Crete]] at [[Knossos]], for example, have yielded specimens from {{circa|1800&nbsp;BCE}}, including one [[cylinder seal]] depicting an ibex defending himself from a [[hunting dog]].<ref>{{cite web |first=C. Michael |last=Hogan |title=Knossos fieldnotes |date=2007 |publisher=Modern Antiquarian  |url=http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes}}</ref> From the similar age a gold [[jewelry]] ibex image was found at the [[Akrotiri (prehistoric city)|Akrotiri]] archaeological site<ref>{{cite book |first1=A.G. |last1=Karydas |first2=X. |last2=Brecoulaki |first3=Th. |last3=Pantazis |first4=E. |last4=Aloupi |first5=V. |last5=Argyropoulos |first6=D. |last6=Kotzamani |first7=R. |last7=Bernard |first8=Ch. |last8=Zarkadas |first9=Th. |last9=Paradellis |chapter=Importance of in-situ EDXRF Measurements in the Preservation and Conservation of Material Culture |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/1-4020-3581-0_2 |editor-last=Uda |editor-first=M. |editor2-last=Demortier |editor2-first=G. |editor3-last=Nakai |editor3-first=I. |title=X-rays for Archaeology |publisher=Springer |date=2005 |isbn=1-4020-3581-0 |doi=10.1007/1-4020-3581-0_2 |pages=27–53, See pp. 35, 42–44}}</ref> on [[Santorini]] in present day [[Greece]].
An [[Iron Age]] ''Capra ibex'' specimen was recovered at the [[Aq Kupruk]] Archaeological site in present day [[Afghanistan]], illustrating either domestication or hunting of the ibex by these early peoples.{{Clarify me|date=August 2009}} <!--Not so very early in this context: goats were domesticated long before the Iron Age.-->However, archaeological records of ibex can be difficult to separate from those of domestic [[goats]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Richard H. |last=Meadow |chapter=Prehistoric Wild Sheep and Sheep Domestication on the Eastern Margin of the Middle East |chapter-url= |editor-first=Pam J. |editor-last=Crabtree |editor2-first=Douglas V. |editor2-last=Campana |editor3-first=Kathleen |editor3-last=Ryan |title=Early Animal Domestication and Its Cultural Context |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology |date=1989 |isbn=0-924171-96-0 |pages=24–36 |oclc=1357619096}}</ref>
 
Earlier evidence of domestication or hunting of the ibex was found identified through DNA analysis of the contents of the stomach of [[Ötzi]], the [[natural mummy]] of a  [[Chalcolithic]] man discovered in the  [[Ötztal Alps]] in 1991, who lived between [[34th century BC|3400]] and [[3100 BCE]].  According to DNA reconstruction, the man's penultimate meal contained ibex.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rollo F, Ubaldi M, Ermini L, Marota I |title=Otzi's last meals: DNA analysis of the intestinal content of the Neolithic glacier mummy from the Alps |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |volume=99 |issue=20 |pages=12594–9 |date=October 2002 |pmid=12244211 |pmc=130505 |doi=10.1073/pnas.192184599 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2002PNAS...9912594R }}</ref> There is a myth that says Ibex used to have wings in a time and they used to fly back in dates, by time their wings disappeared and they started climbing the mountain.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In [[Yemen]], the ibex is a longstanding symbol of national identity, representing many positive attributes of the Yemeni people. Numbers of the animal – primarily the [[Nubian ibex]] – declined significantly from the late 20th century, due to hunting. In 2022, activists and intellectuals urged the declaration of an annual National Ibex Day, on 22 January, along with calls for greater protection of the animal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nubian Ibex |date= |publisher=San Diego Zoo |url=https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/nubian-ibex }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Hamdan |last=Alaly |title=Ibex in the Yemeni civilization: a historical symbolism being revived |date=22 January 2022 |publisher=Global Voices |url=https://globalvoices.org/2022/01/24/ibex-in-the-yemeni-civilization-a-historical-symbolism-being-revived/ }}</ref>

Further Information: {{See section|Nubian ibex|Cultural Significance and Human Exploitation}}