Primate behavior in Ancient Egypt: the iconography of baboons and other monkeys in the Old Kingdom

While various primates may have originally roamed in the formally lush prehistoric landscape of Egypt, by the Old Kingdom period, baboons and other monkeys were not native to Egypt proper and only available through foreign import from further south. Yet monkeys remained a recurrent feature in the iconography of this and later periods. A motivation of great religious significance was likely behind the baboon's continual importation. Of a more secular nature, however, are reliefs from both royal and non-royal tombs where they are inserted into traditionally human scenes, exhibiting their own natural behavior, or imitating human actions, often rather humorously. This study examines the type of primate behaviors observed by the Egyptians and recorded on the walls of their tombs for eternity.