New research on mysterious baboon mummies found in Egypt over 100 years ago has shed light on the sacred importance of these primates to the ancient Egyptians.
By studying these strange creatures, researchers believe they have uncovered new evidence that the regions of Punt and Adulis – two trading areas in the coastal region of present-day Eritrea – were separated by a thousand years of history in the economic and geopolitical structure of the world in that area.
Valley of the Monkeys west of Luxor
A baboon mummy was found eroding out of the Valley of the Monkeys in 1905, an archaeological site on the west bank of the Nile River in Luxor known for its depictions of baboons on tomb walls discovered nearby.
These creatures were missing their ferocious canines, but unlike other baboon mummy samples found from the same time frame, they were not buried with the nobility of the time or found in mass graves, which raised questions for decades about how they got there and why.
Science has finally progressed enough to answer some of the outstanding questions about the baboons. After testing 10 different samples and being able to extract DNA from one of them, Gisela Kopp, a biologist at the University of Konstanz in Germany, used a new method of genetic analysis on the DNA from the sample to trace its origins. This is the first time ancient DNA from a non-mummified primate has been successfully analyzed.
Baboons from the coasts of Eritrea
The mummy that Kopp extracted DNA from, which dates back to between 800 and 500 BC, confirms that the Horn of Africa was the original region of the baboons. Kopp’s baboon’s genetic material was compared to another sample that originated from the coastal region of Eritrea, where the ancient port of Adulis was located.
However, Kopp’s baboon was preserved long before the ancient city of Adulis flourished as a major trading center and port, where animals such as baboons and cheetahs were frequently bought and sold.
Ancient texts from the same time period suggest that the baboon in question likely originated in a city called Punt. “The exact location of the baboon has long puzzled researchers, due to references to the city in important texts and works of art, but it has not been found on existing maps,” Kopp told Insider.
“The sample we studied fits chronologically with the last known expeditions to Punt,” she added. “However, it fits geographically with Adulis, the site that was later known as a trading place for primates as well. We hypothesize that Punt and Adulis are two different places. And that they are ‘names for the same place that were used at different points in time.'”
Kopp, whose research was published in the journal eLife, said that the precise methods behind the importation of primates (baboons) to Egypt, their rearing, and their eventual mummification remain unclear.
The religious importance of baboons
Anthropologist Nathaniel Dominy of Dartmouth College, who collaborated with Kopp on the study, said that “baboons are not found in African artwork of the time, due to their bad reputation in their natural environment, but they carry special importance in Egypt.”
Dominy told Insider that for the ancient Egyptians, baboons seemed to serve a dual spiritual purpose. These creatures are often shown with their arms raised towards the sun in what he described as a “pose of adoration” towards the sunrise represented by the Egyptian god Ra. The baboon was also often depicted as the physical embodiment of the Egyptian moon god Thoth, the god associated with wisdom and war.
Religious significance may have been the motivation behind the Egyptians’ desire to import, raise, and preserve the creatures, as Dominy and Kopp hypothesize. Their canines, which were so strong that they could sever a human thigh to the bone in a single bite, were likely removed as a precautionary measure.
Overall, this is a fascinating study that provides new insights into the complex relationship between ancient Egyptians and baboons.
