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Boundary Beasts and Moving Lines: Visualising Known–Unknown, Safety, and Traversability in Global Myth Imagery

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The paper presents a comparative visual-analytic study of boundary figures—monsters, hybrid beings, and psychopomps—across three cultural corpora: Hybrid beings in the Shan Hai Jing Monstrous races depicted on medieval European world maps The Egyptian god Anubis as a psychopomp in funerary iconography Rather than treating these figures as zoological curiosities or mythic characters, the study approaches them as boundary operations: visual mechanisms through which cultures manage uncertainty, danger, and transition. Methodological contribution The analysis employs a minimal three-axis comparative framework, organised around: Known / Unknown Safe / Dangerous Static / Traversable This framework is used descriptively and heuristically, as a compact comparative language for visual boundary configurations. It does not claim explanatory priority over existing theories of liminality or boundary-work, nor does it propose psychological or historical universals. Visual materials The manuscript is accompanied by four original conceptual visual models, created by the author on the basis of secondary scholarship. These figures are explicitly designated as conceptual analytic models, not archaeological or historical reconstructions, and are used to: Compress comparative arguments into legible visual form Support scholarly analysis and public-facing explanation Clarify boundary profiles across cases The figures are not treated as primary historical evidence. Scope and status This work is released as a working paper (v1.1) intended for: Scholarly discussion Methodological transparency Use in digital humanities, visual culture, or heritage-oriented contexts It is not a finalized journal publication, and future revisions may expand the number of cases, refine the framework, or adapt the manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed venue.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18295940
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7124746371
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