In the context of art, zoomorphism describes art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It can also be defined as art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal or art that uses animals as a visual motif, sometimes referred to as "animal style". Depicting deities in animal form (theriomorphism) is an example of zoomorphism in a religious context. The word zoomorphism derives from Ancient Greek: ζῶον, romanized: zōon, lit. 'animal' and Ancient Greek: μορφή, romanized: morphē, lit. 'form; shape'.
It is also similar to the term therianthropy; which is the ability to shape shift into animal form, except that with zoomorphism the animal form is applied to a physical object. It means to attribute animal forms or animal characteristics to other animals, or things other than an animal; similar to but broader than anthropomorphism. Contrary to anthropomorphism, which views animal or non-animal behavior in human terms, zoomorphism is the tendency of viewing human behavior in terms of the behavior of animals. It is also used in literature to portray the act of humans or objects with animalistic behavior or features. The use of zoomorphism served as a decorative element to objects that are typically quite simple in shape and design.
