So far, tens of millions of animal mummies have been excavated in Egypt. But while there are millions of mummified cats, dogs, ibises and birds of prey, primate mummies are rare – and little understood.
Now, a new analysis of mummified baboons sheds light on the animals’ place in ancient Egypt, showing that although they were prized as sacred animals, their living conditions were far from ideal.
Researchers analyzed bones of mummified baboons, which were discovered in the early 20th century in the Gabbanat el-Qurud necropolis, in the so-called Valley of the Apes, southwest of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. The bones represented dozens of individual baboons – from infants to adults – in two species: the hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) and the olive baboon (Papio anubis).
These species were not native to Egypt – they were imported from two regions: “the olive baboon from the south (modern Sudan) and the hamadryas baboon from mountainous areas along the Red Sea, in Sudan and south to Eritrea, Somalia. and Ethiopia,” says lead study author Wim Van Neer, professor emeritus at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels. “The exact origin needs to be documented in more detail,” Van Neer told CNN in an email.
Of all the animals the ancient Egyptians revered, baboons were the only ones not native to Egypt, Van Neer added.
The baboons are thought to have played a role in ancient Egyptian rituals, the scientists reported Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. But raising and caring for large wildlife – especially non-native species – is a challenge. Before their deaths, the baboons were deprived of sunlight and developed bone disorders due to poor nutrition, researchers found. Examination of the skeletal remains revealed signs of rickets; the baboons had deformed arms, legs and faces, undeveloped teeth, osteoarthritis and other pathologies due to deprivation and metabolic diseases.
Their deformities resembled those of baboon bones from two other ancient Egyptian sites — Saqqara and Tuna el-Gebel — dating to about the same period, the authors wrote.
“This excellently designed and executed study confirms the results of some previous studies on the health status of baboons in ancient Egypt,” said Dr. Salima Ikram, a leading university professor of Egyptology at the American University of Cairo, who was not involved in the study. research. “More importantly, it also confirms the fact that several species of baboons were brought to Egypt and raised,” Ikram told CNN in an email. “It is fascinating to think that the ancient Egyptians attempted to establish a breeding program for baboons so that they could be both worshiped and used in religious rituals.”
A tangle of bones
At the three main Egyptian sites where Old World monkey mummies were buried, 463 mummified primates have been discovered, according to the study. The baboon bones examined for the new analysis were collected in 1905 and 1906 by archaeologists from the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Lyon in France (now the Musée des Confluences).
The graves contained pieces of dried skin with long tufts of hair still attached, indicating that the animals had been placed there as mummies. The French archaeologists recovered 23 skulls, 24 mandibles and more than 200 isolated bones, which, according to the study, were pieced together into complete skeletons, regardless of whether all the bones belonged to the same baboon.
Two skeletons were pieced together from bones from two different baboons, and one skeleton represented three of the primates. Of the four skeletons that were properly assembled, only one had the correct skull. After analyzing the bones one by one, the study authors identified 36 different baboons of all ages, a group with more adults than juveniles and a few more males than females.
The bones also showed signs of metabolic problems during adolescent growth, including bent shafts, deformed shaft heads and arthritic joints. Two female baboons suffered from tooth decay. There were lesions in some skulls; two of the primates had a shorter snout, and two others had a snout bent to the left.
The mummies were also centuries older than previously thought. Based on the mummies’ proximity to nearby ceramic artifacts in the tombs, previous estimates placed them between the first and second centuries at the earliest, and possibly as recently as the seventh century.
But when the study authors examined bone collagen and fibers from textiles wrapped around an intact baboon mummy, they found that the animals were likely buried between 803 and 520 BC. The researchers confirmed that time frame using a technique called radiocarbon dating, which can determine the age of organic material by measuring the amount of decay in a radioactive isotope of carbon.
Holy and suffering
Conditions for the captive primates may have been even worse than their remains suggested, because bones often don’t preserve records of parasites and other types of ailments, the researchers reported.
However, it is important to note that the scientists’ findings do not suggest that the baboons were deliberately abused. Their caretakers probably did their best to care for the animals, “but this must not have been easy,” Van Neer said.
“Baboons are good climbers and were therefore probably kept in buildings or enclosures with high walls to prevent them from escaping. The lack of sunlight caused them to develop the metabolic disorders we see, mainly rickets. There are no signs of broken bones that would indicate the animals were physically abused,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the Egyptians did not know enough about the care and feeding of baboons,” Ikram added. “While trying to give them respect and care, they actually created conditions that were detrimental to the animals’ health and well-being – the road to hell is paved with good intentions!”
Mindy Weisberger is a science writer and media producer whose work has appeared in the magazines LiveScience, Scientific American, and How It Works.
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