2025/08/18 by Kenneth Linden · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology #Animal Diversity and Health Studies #Ecology and biodiversity studies
paper · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.810
openalex publication_date 2025/08/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Understanding the interaction between animals and Mongolians is key to understanding Mongolian history. Mobile herding and large- and small-scale hunting dominated Mongolian society, environment, and economies. Though Mongolian human-animal and environmental relations are often spoken of in exoticized terms, careful historical study of Mongolia reveals a clear picture of evolving relationships that span the gamut of exploitation and cooperation. Social structure shaped the relationships between humans and animals, and when society changed, as in the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire, the rule of the Manchu Qing, the establishment of the socialist era, and the fall of socialism and transition to capitalism, these relationships also changed. Looking at history through the lens of animals allows a new viewpoint of human history and casts light on previously ignored or underexplored areas.