The Egyptians deified animals, but their mummies reveal that they suffered in bad conditions

The ancient Egyptians' obsession with animals was such that even the Romans laughed at them. In their Satires, Juvenal wrote: “Who has not heard, Volusius, of the monstrous deities worshiped by those crazy Egyptians? Some adore crocodiles, others serpentine ibis. You will find entire cities dedicated to cats, river fish or dogs.”

We could assume that, due to their sacred nature, the animals enjoyed a good life alongside the Egyptians. Nothing is further from reality. To discover how these animals lived, we have to go to Saqqara, a vast necropolis located about 30 kilometers south of Cairo. At the height of Egypt's Old Kingdom, Saqqara stood as an important religious and funerary site. This vast complex housed tombs and temples dedicated to various deities. It was the resting place of kings and commoners, but also of millions of sacred animals, in specific sanctuaries dedicated to gods associated with them.

Now, archaeological studies are revealing the conditions in which these animals lived. For example, the number of diseases and fractures that appear in mummified dog bones They reveal that they lived in confined spaces and that they were not cared for very well. Animals were raised on a large scale and most of them were slaughtered to supply the high demand for animal mummies. Probably, the provision and maintenance of animals was an important component of the city's economic activity.

Saqqara became a place for ritual sacrifice. In tombs and temples these mummies were offered as offerings that would ensure divine protection and eternal life for the deceased. The priests helped the pilgrims who arrived at Saqqara to mummify an animal and bury it in one of the catacombs. In the end, the result was always the same: a mummy that required a deceased animal.

But Saqqara was not the only place where these practices took place. A recently published study in PLoS One, has analyzed the bones of 36 baboons found at the archaeological site of Gabbanat el-Qurud, about 6 kilometers from the ancient city of Thebes. The conclusion has been overwhelming: these baboons did not have a good life. The bones belonged to specimens of all ages of two different species of baboons, the hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) and the olive baboon (Papio Anubis). Unlike other mummified animals, there were no wild baboons in Egypt, so they had to be brought from other places to be raised there.

Although the exact provenances are still a matter of debate, it is known that the olive baboons were moved from the south, where Sudan is currently located, and were transported down the Nile River. On the other hand, the supply of hamadryas baboons was a little more complicated. They were traded with from the south of the Arabian Peninsula and had to first cross the Red Sea and then desert roads.

Curiously, with the study of the bones it is possible to differentiate between those who were born wild and those who were born in captivity. A striking case is that of a female hamadryas whose bones showed no signs of disease, except for a cavity and poor mineralization of the bone enamel known as enamel hypoplasia. This condition is frequently seen in wild individuals that have been captured and are suffering from intense stress. The researchers were able to deduce that the baboon had been captured when she was two years old and that she died at eight.

However, the bones of baboons that had been born in captivity told another story. Virtually all of them had osteoarthritis, rickets, poorly developed teeth, deformed limbs and faces, and other metabolic diseases. The cause is simple: a poor diet and deprivation of sunlight. This gives us an idea of ​​the dire living conditions these animals suffered. They could even have been worse than what scientists deduced, since bones do not keep records of all diseases.

According to the authors of the study, baboons are aggressive animals and good climbers. It is not easy to keep them in captivity. Their captors probably needed high-walled or closed enclosures to prevent them from escaping. Furthermore, compared to the extremely varied diet that nature offers them, these baboons must have been fed on scraps such as stale bread.

Unintentional damage

Of course, there were no signs to suggest that the baboons were physically abused and the authors believe that they were not physically abused. This is what they told CNN: “Unfortunately, the Egyptians did not know enough about the care and feeding of baboons. While attempting to give them reverence and care, they actually established conditions detrimental to the animals' health and well-being. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions!”

For the Egyptians, animals were endowed with supernatural powers that gave them intimate access to the gods. These beliefs provided the basis for their religious practices. They linked animals with certain deities with whom they shared attributes and strengths. In fact, the most significant feature of the religion of the ancient Egyptians was that their gods were theriomorphic, that is, they shared human traits with traits taken from other animals.

Due to their characteristics, cats were identified w
ith Bastet, the goddess of love, beauty and self-indulgence. Dogs and other canids were associated with Anubis, the god of cemeteries, embalming and travel, since these animals, attracted by the smell of meat, frequented the places where mummifications were made. Birds of prey were associated with the Sun god, because they fly high in the sky and their eyes evoke this star. The sacred ibis was Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, because its beak resembles the shape of a reed pen.

It was believed that each god could manifest itself in an animal during its life and, after its death, the spirit of the god was transferred to another specimen of the same species. These animals were mummified and buried in catacombs with great pomposity. There are millions of mummified animals at the hands of the ancient Egyptians, of multiple species: cats, dogs, foxes, jackals, mongooses, sheep, goats, gazelles, shrews, monkeys, rodents, snakes, crocodiles, lizards, fish, birds of prey, ibis, beetles and even their dung balls.

A strong point of the religious beliefs of the Egyptians was that live animals provided a means of connection with the deities, which was much more accessible than the representations of the gods that were kept confined within the temple. This democratization of religion allowed a more intimate relationship between people and the gods, through animals, which greatly contributed to the success of these cults.

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