Description: The ostrich (Arabic na-ama, French autruche, German Straufi, Italian struzzo, Norwegian struts, Spanish avestruz) aroused the imagination of the ancients from the earliest times onwards. From antiquity, ostriches have provided human beings with food, clothing, utensils and adornment; they have also been persecuted for their meat, skin, feathers and eggs. The latter, in particular, have long been prized. Eggs were traded all over the Mediterranean. An ostrich egg with animal paintings was found in the Isis Grotto at Vulci, in Italy, and silver and gilt eggs were imported by the Etruscans. In ancient Sparta, an egg was on exhibition which, apparently, Leda had laid following her affair with Zeus in the shape of a swan and from which the Dioscuri had hatched. The Bushmen, and later European sailors, found that ostrich eggs were an invaluable source of food that kept fresh for long periods. The Hottentots used whole empty shells as practical water vessels, and shell fragments have been made into beads for necklaces. Carved vases and cups of ostrich eggshells were used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia 5 000 years ago and also in postRenaissance Europe. Eggshells are used to the present day to make necklaces and belts, and to carry water. (fao.org)
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