Nancy, take my advice here and please be a bit more cautious about quoting
Temple Grandin on anything whatsoever. There is zero verified evidence
that the presence, absence, or distribution of hair whorls in either
cattle or horses has any relationship whatsoever to the animal's
temperament or manageability. Currently there is a fad for this among the
Parelli so-called "natural" horsemanship camp, and also Linda
Tellington-Jones' "T-Team-Touch" followers -- and the real motivations
that lie behind it are (1) these people, who run pyramid franchising
schemes, want to capture, indoctrinate, and hold followers, and this
pseudo-science seems viable to many among the general public; and (2)
there are also many among their followers who are afraid of or timid
around large livestock, so that an essentially phrenological pre-bias as
to the animal's supposedly aggressive temperament forms for them a good
excuse for not knowing or not having the necessary boldness and technique
to handle the more aggressive or lively animals. Temple Grandin has a mild
form of autism; this does not make her a savant, and she should not be
treated as such, but rather subjected to the same level of peer review as
the rest of us. -- Dr. Deb
> Hello,
> Can anyone tell me why some cattle in New Kingdom Egyptian tomb reliefs
> are shown with the hair swirl on the forehead and some are NOT? Is it a
> question of breed? Can't simply be sex since both cows and bulls can have
> it.
>
> I know Temple Grandin has found that modern American bulls with the swirl
> tend to be more difficult to manage. I just can't find out anything about
> ancient Egyptian breeds that would shed light on the question.
>
> Thank you!
> Nancy
>
> Nancy R. Thomas, Ph.D.
> Professor Emerita of Art History
> Jacksonville University
>
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