The story of humankind is inseparable from the story of animals – together we forged civilisation, faith and the very idea of culture.

From the Ice Age to the Viking Age, The Flock explores how animals have shaped human life not only through hunting and agriculture, but through imagination, craft, ritual and myth. Drawing on archaeology, artefacts and ancient texts, archaeologist Kristin Armstrong-Oma reveals a world in which humans and animals lived side by side, bound by cooperation, reverence and necessity.

We encounter creatures both real and symbolic – from the reindeer and oxen that sustained us, to wolves and ravens that populated our stories and gods. Through these connections, Armstrong-Oma uncovers how animals helped build the material, spiritual and emotional fabric of society itself.

Beautifully written and richly illustrated, The Flock is a cultural history of coexistence – a journey through time showing how the lives of animals and humans have always been intertwined.