Mummified Baboons Reveal the Far Reach of Early Egyptian Mariners
RESEARCH ARTICLE Mummified baboons reveal the far reach of early Egyptian mariners Nathaniel J Dominy1*, Salima Ikram2, Gillian L Moritz1†, Patrick V Wheatley3, John N Christensen3, Jonathan W Chipman4, Paul L Koch5 1Departments of Anthropology and Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States; 2Department of Sociology, Egyptology, and Anthropology, American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt; 3Center for Isotope Geochemistry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, United States; 4Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States; 5Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, United States Abstract The Red Sea was witness to important events during human history, including the first long steps in a trade network (the spice route) that would drive maritime technology and shape geopolitical fortunes for thousands of years. Punt was a pivotal early node in the rise of this enterprise, serving as an important emporium for luxury goods, including sacred baboons (Papio hamadryas), but its location is disputed. Here, we use geospatial variation in the oxygen and strontium isotope ratios of 155 baboons from 77 locations to estimate the geoprovenance of mummified baboons recovered from ancient Egyptian temples and tombs. Five Ptolemaic *For correspondence: specimens of P. anubis (404–40 BC) showed evidence of long-term residency in Egypt prior to nathaniel.j.dominy@dartmouth. mummification, consistent with a captive breeding program. Two New Kingdom specimens of P. edu hamadryas were sourced to a region that encompasses much of present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, and portions of Somalia and Yemen. This result is a testament to the tremendous reach of Present address: †Department Egyptian seafaring during the 2nd millennium BC.
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