Abstract:
Since predynastic times, baboons (Papio hamadryas and Papio anubis) were important in ancient Egypt for ritual and religious purposes. These species did not occur naturally in Egypt and therefore had to be imported, but little is known about their exact provenance and the conditions in which they were kept through time. Here, we analyse the skeletal remains of a collection of baboon mummies coming from Thebes (Egypt), representing a minimum of 36 individuals, from a palaeopathological and demographic point of view. The pathological cases are described, figured where relevant, and the discussion attempts to understand their aetiology. The prevalence of the different types of deformations and pathologies is compared with that of other captive baboon populations from more or less contemporary (Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara) or older (predynastic Hierakonpolis) sites. This is combined with observations on the age and sex distribution and the proportion of hamadryas and anubis baboons to draw conclusions about the conditions of keeping, possible breeding on-site, provenance of the animals and the trade routes used for import. As in Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara, the baboons from Gabbanat el-Qurud suffered from numerous metabolic diseases due to chronic lack of sunlight and an unbalanced diet. This and the demographic data suggest that there was a local breeding population derived from animals captured downstream from the Sudanese Nile Valley (for anubis) and from the Horn of Africa or the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula (for hamadryas). A new series of radiocarbon dates is provided, placing the baboons from Gabbanat el-Qurud between the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Late Period.
摘要:
自王朝前时代以来,狒狒(Papiohamadryas和Papioanubis)在古埃及出于仪式和宗教目的很重要。这些物种不是在埃及自然产生的,因此必须进口,但是人们对它们的确切来源和它们经过时间的保存条件知之甚少。这里,我们分析了来自底比斯(埃及)的一系列狒狒木乃伊的骨骼遗骸,代表至少36个人,从古病理学和人口统计学的角度来看。描述了病理病例,找出相关的地方,讨论试图了解他们的病因。将不同类型的变形和病理的患病率与或多或少当代(Tunael-Gebel和Saqqara)或较早(古代Hierakonpolis)地点的其他圈养狒狒种群的患病率进行比较。结合对哈马德雷亚斯和阿努比斯狒狒的年龄和性别分布以及比例的观察,得出关于饲养条件的结论,可能在现场繁殖,动物的出处和用于进口的贸易路线。就像金枪鱼和萨卡拉一样,由于长期缺乏阳光和饮食不平衡,Gabbanatel-Qurud的狒狒患有多种代谢疾病。这和人口统计数据表明,当地的繁殖种群来自苏丹尼罗河谷下游(对于阿努比斯)和非洲之角或阿拉伯半岛南部(对于哈马德里亚斯)捕获的动物。提供了一系列新的放射性碳数据,将Gabbanatel-Qurud的狒狒放置在第三中间期结束和晚期开始之间。