Ancient Egyptians established 1st zoo 6,000 years ago

CAIRO – 16 October 2022: Ancient Egypt has always attracted the attention of archaeologists and historians until researchers discovered the advanced society that the pharaohs formed thousands of years ago. 

British Egyptologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie has been called the "Father of Egyptian Archeology".  He was the first to introduce archeology techniques to Egypt in the mid-1880s, and thanks to his work, researchers were able to learn a lot about what life was like for the ancient Egyptians. 

In modern times, researchers have also been able to study what life looked like before the pharaohs took power, around 3000 BC in 2015. Archaeologists have conducted excavations at the site of Hierakonpolis, the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt, known as the "City of Falcons".

According to the Smithsonian Channel documentary "Secrets: Monsters of the Pharaohs," archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery, as archaeologist Renee Friedman has found the remains of animals that came directly from the African continent. The researchers were able to prove that the animals including tigers, crocodiles, and ostriches were preserved to be seen by people who lived in the prehistoric era in Egypt, according to the British Daily Express website.

Explaining what this discovery means, Friedman said, "Basically we have here the first zoo in the world. It dates back more than 6000 years. That was before the invention of writing, before the invention of the potter's wheel, before the pyramids were even a glint in the eye of the king.”

Friedman and her team were also able to determine when the animals were buried. "This allowed us to get carbon for 14 dates, which showed us that many of these animals were all buried at the same time, because the dates are almost identical," she explained.