Summary: Mummified baboons help pinpoint the location of an important trading partner of Egypt, the famous “Land of Punt.” Could there be a Biblical connection?
The king [Solomon] had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. – 1 Kings 10:22 (NIV)
“God’s Land”
The fabled “Land of Punt” (Ta netjer or “God’s Land”) was a major civilization in the ancient world, but its location has remained a mystery long debated by scholars. Over fifty hieroglyphic inscriptions relating to Punt describe it as a sacred religious place and an important trading partner of Dynastic Egypt. Some scholars have also linked Punt to the Biblical “Ophir” where Solomon sent his ships.
Egyptian descriptions of the land’s luxurious wealth and exotic treasures make it seem almost mythical. Among the products imported from the area were gold, ebony, wild creatures, elephant tusks, animal skins, cosmetics, spices, incense and frankincense and myrrh trees. Many of these items were coveted by pharaohs for use in their traditional rituals and ceremonies.
Queen Hatshepsut in the 18th Dynasty encapsulates the deep respect and almost mystical view Egyptians felt for the land:
“It is the sacred region of God’s Land; it is my place of distraction; I have made it for myself in order to cleanse my spirit, along with my mother [goddess] Hathor, the lady of Punt.”
But where exactly was this mysterious land? Recently, researchers have been able to narrow down the possibilities using a peculiar method, the study of baboon mummies.
Baboon Importation
Among the live animals brought back to Egypt from Punt were baboons, considered sacred by Egyptians. Thoth, the god of the moon, was often represented in images and artwork by a Hamadrya baboon. Their bodies have even been found mummified in ancient tombs.
Since baboons are not native to Egypt, biologist Gisela Kobb pursued the question of how and where Egypt acquired the animals, by studying the mummified baboon remains. By this method she was able to pinpoint the location of the legendary Land of Punt, revealing the far reach of early Egyptian mariners.
“Egyptologists have long puzzled over Punt, since some scholars have seen it as a location in early global maritime trade networks, and thus the starting point for economic globalization”, said Kopp about her study, which has been published in the journal eLife.
Where is the Land of Punt?
Wide speculation about the location of Punt have resulted in proposals of such areas as Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, all of Sub Saharan Africa, southern Arabia, and even the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Some have linked it to the mysterious island kingdom of Atlantis written about by Plato. Based on the available evidence, most scholars have favored areas southeast of Egypt.
According to the Egyptian First Dynasty rulers or Horus-Kings, the famous Land of Punt was their ancestral birthplace. Punt is best known from the inscriptions of Queen Hatshepsut of the New Kingdom’s 18th Dynasty. However, evidence suggests that the Egyptians were trading with Punt as early as the Old Kingdom’s 4th Dynasty reign of Pharaoh Khufu and probably even before.
The earliest hieroglyphic description of an Egyptian expedition to Punt comes from the Palermo Stone. It records that 80,000 measures of ‘ntiyw (a particular type of incense), among other items, were brought to Egypt during the 13th regnal year of Sahure, the second Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom’s Fifth Dynasty.
Unfortunately, the Palermo Stone does not specify where Punt itself was located, nor does any other inscription. Evidence shows it was likely somewhere south and east of the Nile Valley, most likely along the African coast, but the exact location has been highly debated.
Hatshepsut’s Hieroglyphics
Records of Queen Hatshepsut’s legendary expedition to Punt are found on the walls of her temple at Deir el-Bahron. The relief depicts a large voyage of five vessels, each with about 30 crewmen. Like other Egyptian voyages to Punt, the trip commenced by departing from a Red Sea port. Living frankincense trees are shown being transported to cargo ships. Four to six men were needed to carry each of the 31 heavy, incense trees on board. This marks the first known successful attempt at transplanting foreign fauna.
Along with trees, Hatshepsut brought back live animals such as baboons, which can be seen carved on her murals. Baboons were kept in captivity to pay homage to the god Thoth, a lunar deity who was believed to have spoken for Ra and created the Book of the Dead. He was associated with writing, magic, and the moon.
Being highly revered as representations of god, baboons were mummified after death and have been found within the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. The mummies show that the animals’ dangerous canine teeth had been removed.
African Baboons
The distribution of various species of baboons across the African continent and their genetic diversity has been well studied. Of the six distinct species, Egypt’s mummies and artwork are Hamadryas baboons. Kopp and her research team studied the mummy specimen unearthed in 1905 within the “Valley of the Monkeys,” currently housed in the Musée des Confluences in Lyon.
“We have comparative samples from almost all regions where baboons live today,” Kopp said. These were supplemented with specimens from museum collections. Sample comparisons are possible because the location of different genetic variants of baboon populations is thought to be consistent over time.
Kopp specifically studied the chemical element, Strontium, which can function as a geographic fingerprint, tracing the life history of animals. Since it develops early and then stops, Strontium in teeth reveals where an animal was born. On the other hand, Strontium in bone and hair show where the animal lived just before it died.
The study determined that the baboons came from the Horn of Africa, specifically a well-defined area on the coastal region of Eritrea. This location is near to the port of Adulis, known in ancient texts as a trading place for exotic goods and animals.
With the results it is now possible to link the mysterious Land of Punt with the known city of Adulis. “The specimen we studied fits chronologically with the last known expeditions to Punt. Geographically, however, it fits Adulis, a location that, centuries later, was known as a trading place, also for primates,” reported Kopp.
“We hypothesize that Punt and Adulis are two different names for the same place that were used at different points in time,” Kopp said. “It was only after we put our biological findings in the context of historical research that the story really came together.”
In the field of biology itself the findings are a scientific breakthrough, being the first time that ancient DNA from mummified primates was analyzed successfully. This opens more opportunities of study concerning human-wildlife interactions.
The representation of baboons in images and artwork since antiquity is only found in Egypt. The Egyptian elevation given to these primates as a representative of a god is ironic considering that people who share environments with baboons usually look at them as a nuisance, being a pest that damages crops.
Possible Biblical Connections to Punt
Some biblical scholars have identified “Punt” with the biblical land of Put (or Phut), with some sources including Yeman as its possible location on the Arabian Peninsula. But some of the animals from Hatshepsut’s expedition come from Africa and not Arabia. Also, most Bibles translate Put as Libya.
A more intriguing possibility is that Punt with its exotic wares included the homeland of the queen of Sheba who visited Solomon and gave him such gifts (1 Kings 10:2). Like many Biblical locations, it is not known precisely where Sheba was. Some equate Sheba with Egypt itself (Jesus calls the queen of Sheba the “queen of the south” in Matthew 12:42 and the king of Egypt is called the “king of the south” in the book of Daniel) or lands to Egypt’s south. Many others favor southern Arabia for the location of Sheba.
However, the most plausible Biblical connection to the land of Punt is “Ophir” where King Solomon sent his ships.
King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea [yam suph]. And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon. – 1 Kings 9:26-28 (NIV)
(Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.) – 1 Kings 10:11-12 (NIV)
The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. – 1 Kings 10:22 (NIV)
This is the first time the Bible mentions a place called Ophir. The similarities between the treks of Solomon’s fleet to Ophir and Hatshepsut’s fleet to Punt are striking. Both expeditions reached their destinations via the Red Sea, both brought back exotic treasures of wood (and trees), animals (of similar species), gold, silver, ivory, and precious stones, and both brought back baboons. The famous American Biblical archaeologist William F. Albright was an early proponent of this idea (in a 1921 letter to the American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures – AJSL).
We can’t say with certainty that Ophir was another name for Punt or perhaps that Ophir was a territory within Punt. What we can say is that there is a strong case for Punt and Ophir being in the same area.
Conclusion
“Punt was central to the rise of early maritime commerce, so determining its location is important. Our analysis is the first to show how mummified baboons can be used to inform this enduring debate,” said lead author Nathaniel Dominy of Dartmouth College.
“Long-distance seafaring between Egypt and Punt, two sovereign entities, was a major milestone in human history because it drove the evolution of maritime technology. Trade in exotic luxury goods, including baboons, was the engine behind early nautical innovations.”
King Solomon may also have played a part in this maritime commerce. New technology and research can help fill in the gaps of knowledge about Biblical places and the events that occurred in them.
Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Olive baboon with baby, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. (credit: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
