Ancient Egypt's fluctuating fauna: ecological events or cultural constructs?

Yeakel et al. present an innovative examination of Egypt’s ecological history (1), in which they rely upon paleontological evidence and artistic representations of animals to reconstruct patterns of species extinctions over six millennia. Focusing on ungulates and their mammalian predators, and drawing upon mammalogist Dale Osborn’s 1998 volume, The Mammals of Ancient Egypt (2), Yeakel et al. (1) report dramatic changes in predator–prey ratios corresponding to periods in which Egypt may have experienced extreme aridification. Yeakel et al.’s (1) efforts to link science and the humanities are valuable; indeed, the abundant depictions of animals found in ancient Egyptian cultural remains, especially in detailed tomb paintings, offer a ready source of material that can be approached in this way (3). However, scientific evaluation must be balanced with a clear understanding of Egyptian art, which was heavily constrained by both graphic and cultural rules (4). Yeakel et al.’s (1) conclusions depend upon Egyptian imagery being an accurate record of extant fauna at the time it was created. However, this theory cannot be assumed. Analyses of tomb decoration show that artists frequently copied the wall scenes of their contemporaries, as well as those of earlier periods, reproducing both the composition and content of such scenes. For example, during an archaistic phase in the 25th and 26th Dynasties (ca. 715–525 B.C.E.), in which earlier artistic styles and forms were consciously imitated, tomb decoration was often modeled on that of the 5th and 6th Dynasties (ca. 2494–2184 B.C.E.). Animals also held religious and symbolic meaning in ancient Egyptian culture, causing their images to be retained, irrespective of the species themselves. Recent work by Jí rí Janák (Czech Institute of Egyptology) suggests that depictions of the Waldrapp ibis (Geronticus eremita) continued to be reproduced—despite the bird being locally extinct—because of its cultural significance,with representations gradually becoming inaccurate because of the lack of living models (5). Two of the proposed extinction events identified by Yeakel et al. (1) coincide with periods of social disruption in Egypt (the First Intermediate Period, ca. 2160–2055 B.C.E. and the Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1069–715 B.C.E.). Although climate change may have triggered such disorder, economic and political factors during these times led to a reduction in the size and quality of the tombs constructed, which in turn affected the repertoire of scenes included in the decoration and consequently the animals that might potentially be depicted. The apparent disappearance of species from the cultural record during such periods may thus reflect societal rather than environmental influences. In short, before ancient Egypt’s rich animal imagery is amenable to scientific analysis, its socio-cultural significance must first be considered.