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- Title
Larger than foxes – but smaller than dogs: The gold-digging ants of Herodotus.
- Authors
Reimer, Thomas
- Abstract
The gold-digging ants of Antiquity, located in the 5th century BC by Herodotus in a northern Indian desert, could be traced in Classical, Medieval and Modern European literature as well as in Arab and Persian literature at over 160 references, ranging from Sophocles' Antigone to Donald Duck. In essence it is a typical scare story with which gold diggers wanted to ward off competitors from their gold sources - gold-bearing sands brought to the surface by burrowing animals. The real animal behind the ants is the marmot Marmota caudata (subspecies aurea) with its orange-brown spotted fur - its size being larger than foxes but smaller than dogs. Ants, termites and other digging animals do bring minerals to the surface, a fact that will not have gone unnoticed to early man. Even in modern technology this habit of certain animals is used successfully in prospecting for gold and minerals like diamonds. This story is probably the oldest one which can be traced virtually continuously for almost 2500 years.
- Subjects
INDIA; ANTS; HERODOTUS, ca. 484 B.C.-425 B.C.; ANIMALS in literature; MARMOTS; GOLD; BURROWING animals
- Publication
Reinardus, 2006, Vol 19, p167
- ISSN
0925-4757
- Publication type
Article