Moon Baboon – new insight into the mind of ancient Egyptians

New research from the University of St Andrews has shed light on baboons, moonlight, and their link to an ancient Egyptian deity.

A paper published in Time and Mind, focuses on a God named Thoth – an ancient Egyptian deity of wisdom, writing, magic, and the moon. Manifestations of Thoth took the form of two animal species, the sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) and sacred baboon (Papio hamadryas), but the reasons for this zoomorphism were uncertain.  

Speculation has focused on physical traits of the sacred ibis, especially its curved, crescent-moon shaped beak and its black-and-white pied coloration. However, the baboonification of Thoth is far more puzzling. Recent scholarship traced the origins of the Egyptian name for Thoth to North African linguistic terms for “bright/white thing,” and drew connections with the brilliant white plumage of sacred ibises. 

Building on this work, researchers from St Andrews and Dartmouth University used spectroscopy – measuring the various light wave frequencies given off by colours – to avoid the pitfalls of relying on human subjective impressions of colour, which are notoriously sensitive to cultural influences, and discovered that both the ibis and baboon have spectral profiles indistinguishable from moonlight.

This finding bolsters the idea that divinity was conferred on the sacred ibis and baboon because their coloration resembles moonlight.

Lead author Professor Catherine Hobaiter, primatologist from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, said: “Why would two such different animals be used to represent one deity? Most other Egyptian deities are represented by just one type of animal. Ancient Egyptians were familiar with at least three species of ibis, but they chose the white one for embodying Thoth. They were also familiar with two species of baboon, along with vervet monkeys and patas monkeys, but again they chose the silver-white species. So, sacred ibises and hamadryas baboons are different in many ways, but one thing that unites them is their moon-like colour.” 

Most African cultures have strongly negative views toward baboons, mainly because they destroy crops with conflict over food shaping contemporary cultural attitudes. However, Ancient Egyptians stand out as perhaps the only culture to not only venerate baboons but deify them. This exceptional relationship is a puzzle for both anthropologists and primatologists. Much of our understanding of ancient Egyptians comes from the archaeological record, but opportunities to understand their minds are rare. 

This new work gives a precious insight into the ancient Egyptian worldview, their beliefs, and their consciousness.

ENDS