I hope you enjoy this week's episode of the History of Africa. This week, we're starting a new season, one that finally leaves the Nile Valley and moves on to the Highlands of Ethiopia.
So, to help you along while listening to the geography portion of the show here's a map showing the general placement of the different biomes in Eastern Africa
This Egyptian mural depicts the so-called king and queen of Punt. As we discussed in the podcast, these people were most likely rulers of a specific Puntite city-state, rather than rulers of a unified Puntite kingdom. Looking at the king, you may notice some trappings of Egyptian fashion, specifically, the elongated, artificial beard.
The queen of Punt is possibly depicted as having severe health issues, most likely elephantiasis, a disease that can cause major swelling of limbs. But it might also indicate that beauty standards in Ancient Punt were focused on fertility, with rotund women possessing especially large hips being considered the ideal female form. This resembles depictions of fertility goddesses in other hunter-gatherer and neolithic societies, so it's not a stretch to attribute this view to neolithic East Africans.
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