An interdisciplinary project led by primatologist Gisela Kopp is using genetic analysis to determine the geographical origins of baboon mummies found in ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt, various gods were depicted as animals. Thoth, the god of learning and wisdom, was represented as a hamadryasbaboon. Baboons were probably kept in captivity in Egypt and mummified as sacrifices after death. Today, there are no wild baboons in Egypt, and there is no evidence that these primates once lived in Egypt.
In an interdisciplinary project involving biologists, Egyptologists and anthropologists, Gisela Kopp, a biologist from Konstanz who studies non-human primates, explores the question of how and where baboons came to Egypt. The findings were recently published in the journal eLife.
Baboons were introduced
Baboons were probably introduced from distant lands and kept in captivity in ancient Egypt as a tribute to the god Thoth. Study of the bones showed that their dangerous canine teeth had been removed. To determine the baboons' geographic origins, Gisela-Copp and her team used genetic analysis. With the help of mitochondrial genomes from animal mummies, the origin of these animals can be determined. The distribution of baboons on the African continent and their genetic diversity have been well studied.
"We have comparative samples from almost all the areas where baboons live today," Gisela-Kop said. "Because the location of different genetic variants in baboon populations is very consistent over time, it is possible to compare samples from different time periods that are widely separated."
Comparative sample points to Aduris
One of the study's co-authors, anthropologist Nathaniel Dominy from Dartmouth College in the United States, has used stable isotopes to determine the geographical locations of the mummified baboons. This method of using chemical signatures can be used to distinguish where animals were born and raised.
The study, published in 2020, was able to pinpoint the Horn of Africa as the baboons' origin. Genetic analysis, which has greater geographic precision and can also determine where the animals and their ancestors originally came from, allowed the researchers to narrow down the baboon's origin to a clear region in Eritrea and neighboring regions. The comparative samples most similar to the genetic variation in the mummy specimens come from coastal Eritrea, where the port of Adulis may have been located in ancient times. Ancient texts mention that Adulis was a place where luxury goods and animals were traded.
The mummy specimen used by Gisela Cope and her team was excavated in the "Valley of the Monkeys" in 1905 and is now in the collection of the Confluence Museum in Lyon. The mummy is estimated to date from late ancient Egypt, between 800 and 500 BC. This was long before Adulis flourished as an important trading center and port.
"Early historical documents mention the baboon's origin as Punt, a legendary region from which Egypt imported luxury goods until the early centuries of the first millennium BC. However, the exact location of Punt is unknown," said Gisela Kopp. "Pent has long puzzled Egyptologists, as some scholars believe it was a site in early global maritime trade networks and therefore the starting point of economic globalization."
Egyptian research provides link between Bunt and Adulis
Pent is mentioned in ancient illustrations and texts from the same period as the mummy specimens. The project's Egyptological expertise made it possible to connect Punt to Adulis. "The specimen we studied coincides chronologically with a recent expedition to Punt. However, geographically it matches Adulis, a famous trading location for primates hundreds of years later. We speculate that Punt and Adulis were two different names for the same location, used at different points in time. Only by combining our biological findings with historical research will the story truly connect."
In the field of biology, these findings are a scientific breakthrough because they are the first time ancient DNA from a non-human primate mummy has been successfully analyzed. This provides opportunities to study, among other things, the impact of human-wildlife interactions on genetic diversity and their role in the spread of disease. The ancient Egyptians' contact with exotic animals is evidence of intensive early interactions between wild animals and humans. The mummification of large numbers of different species of animals and primates is a very special cultural practice.
Since ancient times, baboons have been represented in images and artwork only in Egypt. We don’t know what made these primates special to people at the time, or why they were promoted as representatives of the god Thoth. People who live in an environment with baboons generally do not think highly of these animals. To these people, baboons were and still are considered nuisances and pests that destroy crops.