Scientists “shed light” on the history of baboon mummies from Ancient Egypt
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Baboons, the sacred animals of Ancient Egypt, suffered from the conditions in which they were kept. The study of the remains found in the tombs established the source of their ailments.
This is stated in a study published in PLOS One, writes CNN.
Scientists have analyzed the bones of mummified baboons discovered in the early 1900s in the Gabbanat el-Kuroud necropolis in the so-called Valley of the Monkeys. They belonged to dozens of individual baboons – hamadryla baboon (Papio hamadryas) and olive baboon (Papio anubis).
According to the study, 463 mummified primates were found in three tombs in Egypt. The bones of baboons were collected in 1905-1906 by archaeologists from France.
| PHOTO: B. De Cooper |
They found 23 skulls, 24 mandibles and more than 200 individual bones, from which they later assembled complete skeletons, although they belonged to different baboons.
As a result of the analysis, the researchers found 36 baboons of various ages, most of them adult primates. There were more males than females.
The researchers concluded that the baboons had not seen sunlight before they died and were sick due to poor nutrition. The animals showed signs of rickets (they had deformed arms, legs, skulls and underdeveloped teeth), as well as osteoarthritis and other pathologies. Caries was found in two female baboons.
The bone collagen and fibers of the tissue that wrapped the baboon mummies indicate that the animals were likely buried between 803 and 520 BC, the study authors said.
“These species of animals were not “native” to Egypt, they were brought from two regions: the olive baboon – from the south (modern Sudan), and the hamadryla baboon – from the mountainous regions bordering the Red Sea (Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia“, said the lead author of the study, professor emeritus of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Wim Van Neer.
Dr. Salima Ikram, professor emeritus of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, suggests that the ancient Egyptians may have bred imported baboons both for veneration and for use in religious rituals.
The researchers say that the primates’ conditions in captivity may be even worse than their remains suggest, since the bones do not store information about parasites and other diseases.
According to the scientists, the animals were not subjected to intentional violence.
“Baboons are skilled climbers, and to prevent them from escaping, they were probably kept in buildings or enclosures with high walls. Due to the lack of sunlight, they developed rickets. There are no signs of broken bones to indicate that the animals have been physically abused“, said Van Neer.
The baboon keepers probably did their best to care for the animals.
“Unfortunately, the Egyptians did not know enough about the care and feeding of baboons. In an effort to give them respect and care, they actually created conditions harmful to the health and welfare of the animals“, Salima Ikram summed up.
Read also: Did tyrannosaurs eat dinosaurs? Scientists have discovered the last meal of a prehistoric animal for the first time
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