A new study suggests that the sacred baboons of ancient Egypt may have endured poor conditions back when they were still alive.
Poor Conditions Faced by Sacred Baboons of Ancient Egypt
As part of the study "Palaeopathological and demographic data reveal conditions of keeping of the ancient baboons at Gabbanat el-Qurud (Thebes, Egypt)," researchers looked into the bones of dozens of baboon mummies from ancient Egypt. These mummies date back to between 900 B.C. and A.D. 400.
Doing so enabled them to discover that several of these baboons had poor diets and bone disorders that were typically caused by insufficient sunlight.
Among the 36 baboon remains discovered at a sacred animal necropolis at Gabbanat el-Qurud, only four were seen to have good health. Paleontologist Wim Van Neer from the Royal Belgian Institute of Sciences, who was also the lead author of the study, explains that all the others exhibited skeletal deficiencies.
Van Neer notes that the clearest deformations were seen in the skeletons. The limbs were observed to be bent, which is common for rickets, which is an extreme vitamin D deficiency symptom that is usually due to insufficient sunlight.
The study compared the baboon mummy bones from the specific site to others from different areas of ancient Egypt. The researchers did so in hopes of knowing more about the conditions the animals lived in while they were kept.
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Sacred Baboons
While there were other animals that ancient Egyptians considered sacred, baboons were the only ones in the pantheon of Egypt that were not native to the country. Hence, it was necessary for the ancient Egyptians to import these animals.
According to the physical analysis of the mummies, the baboons descend from two different baboons from different areas. The smaller hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) was found to be from the Horn of Africa, while the larger olive baboon (Papio anubis) is from present-day Sudan.
Among the two, the smaller hamadryas ones were revered more and depicted more in the art of the ancient Egyptians. However, Van Neer notes that importing baboons from two different areas may have been done to ensure the supply.
Van Neer also notes that though there is evidence that the baboons kept in Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara may have been held captive in the dark, baboons from the Hierakonpolis predynastic area were kept outside, as their bones do not exhibit any vitamin D deficiency signs. However, these baboons did exhibit signs of healed fractures, which suggests that they may have been tied up and beaten.
Though the lives of the baboons were quite tough, Van Neer thinks that it was done by people with good intentions. They could have tried to take care of the animals, which they may have found difficult. Van Neer also adds that baboons are good climbers, which may have been why they were kept in high-walled enclosures or buildings to prevent escape.
The researchers argue that looking into the teeth of the baboons could reveal more about how they were treated and what they ate. Extracted bone DNA can also be used to see if the animals were captivity-bred or caught in the wild.
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