Ancient Egypt's sacred baboons were not treated right, and we have proof

In a new study, it is revealed that baboons considered to besacred byancient Egyptianswere kept in captivity by them.

It was already known by historians and archaeologists that the Egyptians revered and mummified several kinds of animals, which included baboons. However, it was not clear whether they also treated the baboons in a similar way.

In the study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE and headed by Wim Van Neer of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Belgium, the details of 36 mummified baboon bodies which were found in Gabbanat el-Qurud, in the Valley of the Monkeys on the west bank of Luxor in Egypt were mentioned.

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After the bodies were analysed, it was found that they were not kept in good condition.

"Life was not easy for Egypt's sacred baboons," read the study. "Scientific study shows they suffered from malnutrition and lack of sunlight," it added.

The skeletal remains discovered were of different ages and were estimated to date back to between 800 to 500 BC.

Baboons faced lack of food and sunlight

The deformations and lesions found on the bodies suggested that baboons faced severe lack of daylight and lack of food. The scientists said that this was most probably because they were born and raised in captivity.

"For over a millennium, from the ninth century BC to the fourth century AD, ancient Egyptians mummified millions of animals, considering them embodiments of gods among humans," said Bea De Cupere from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, who had worked on the latest study, while speaking to Newsweek.

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"Cats, bulls, and ibises are commonly found in ancient cemeteries, and occasionally other species such as crocodiles and baboons occur, although the latter are very rare. Almost all of the pathologies we observed are related to severe metabolic disease, there is no or little for physical abuse or mistreatment. We believe that the intentions of the ancient Egyptians were good. They most probably tried to take good care of the baboons but this must not have been easy," he added.

In the study, the photos of the mummified baboons were shown and strange abnormalities were seen on their skeletons. The researchers also found the remains of the same species at other ancient Egyptian sites which had similar abnormalities.

(With inputs from agencies)