Where was the mysterious realm of Punt, from which the pharaohs once imported treasures and exotic animals such as monkeys? Isotope analyzes of baboon mummies now provide new clues to this ancient question in Egyptology. The animals from more than 3000 years ago came from the area northwest of the Horn of Africa, which confirms earlier assumptions about the location of the country of Punt. According to the results, baboons from the later phase of ancient Egyptian history were then probably bred on the Nile.
Frankincense, gold and many other treasures – but also living animals such as giraffes and baboons were loaded from the ships that arrived on the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea: This is shown by pictures on the walls of the famous mortuary temple of Pharaoh Hatshepsut near the ancient Egyptian capital Thebes. In addition to these impressive representations, older and more recent evidence also show that Punt was an important trading partner of the ancient Egyptians for at least 1100 years. It is also clear that Punt was reached by sea. Egyptologists have been wondering where exactly the mysterious land was for more than 150 years. Apparently it was somewhere in the southern region of the Red Sea in Africa or Arabia – but so far there has been largely no tangible evidence.
Divine exotics analyzed
The researchers led by Nathaniel Dominy from Dartmouth College in Hanover are now presenting baboons found in Egypt as possible witnesses of the punts’ situation. As they explain, the monkeys in the kingdom on the Nile were worshiped early on as symbolic animals of the god Thoth and were also mummified for ritual purposes. What is special about it is that Egypt was never part of the natural range of the baboons – the Egyptians therefore idolized exotic species. The pictures from the Hatshepsut temple show that baboons were also introduced from the land the Egyptians called punt. That is why the scientists have now used isotope analyzes to investigate the region from which the animals mummified in Egypt could have come.
They concentrated on the analysis of two finds from the time of the New Kingdom (1550 to 1069 BC), in which the pharaoh Hatshepsut also lived, and on five specimens from the Ptolemaic period (305 to 30 BC). ). To obtain comparative material, the researchers also examined tissue from 155 baboons from 77 locations across East Africa and southern Arabia, which are located in the possible storage area of the former punt. The scientists used the patterns of the strontium isotopic composition in the samples as a marker of the baboons’ geographical origin. This element is released from regional rock and gets into the water. When animals drink it or ingest it through food, this also gives their teeth, hair and bones the geographical signature of their habitat. By means of comparisons, the isotope analyzes allow conclusions to be drawn as to where an animal lived.
Distant origin
In the case of the baboon mummies, the examinations of the hair, teeth and bones showed that the two mummified baboons of the species Papio hamadryas from the time of the New Kingdom had clearly grown up outside of Egypt. The results of specimen EA6738 in particular were clear: According to the isotope profile, the monkey had apparently died soon after its arrival in Egypt. The comparisons of the signatures showed that the monkeys actually originally came from the region north of the Horn of East Africa – most likely from a place in Eritrea, Ethiopia or Somalia. The scientists now interpret the result as a forensic indication that the mysterious land of Punt was there.
As they further report, the investigations of the monkey mummies from the later Ptolemaic period also led to an interesting result: they were baboons of the species Papio anubis, which, according to the isotope signatures, were not imported but lived on the Nile. As the scientists explain, this indicates that the sacred animals were bred in captivity in later history of ancient Egypt.
The results of the baboon mummies from the New Kingdom, however, now also generally illustrate the considerable scope of ancient Egyptian trade, say the scientists. “The long-distance seafaring between Egypt and Punt, two sovereign units, was an important milestone in human history because it drove the development of maritime technology. The trade in exotic luxury goods, including baboons, was certainly a driver of early nautical innovation, ”Dominy concludes.
Source: Dartmouth College, technical article: eLife, doi: 10.7554 / eLife.60860