For tens of thousands of years, human artists have been attempting to capture the beauty of animal forms in sculptures of stone, wood, bone, and clay. In pre-agricultural societies in which animism was the central religious concern, artists made animal effigies and people used these effigies as a way of enhancing their ability to communicate with the souls or spirits of the animal people. Later, artists simply sought to capture the beauty and soul of the animal in the sculptures simply as a way of artistic expression. Shown below are some of the animal sculptures which are on display at the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum.