The earliest mention of
Punt is on the
Palermo Stone kings list, which notes an expedition mounted under the reign of the
fifth dynasty king Sahure (2458—2446). Contact continued sporadically until the
New Kingdom. Visits to the land of Punt are not mentioned in Egyptian
sources after the reign of
Ramesses III (c.l 150 BCE). The scene of an expedition to Punt from
Queen Hatshepsut mortuary complex at Deir el-Bahri shows
Puntites with red skin and facia] features similar to Egyptians, long or bobbed hair, goatee beards, and kilts. The so-called queen of Punt is represented as steatopygous. These same reliefs show the Puntites as a settled people, with houses placed on stilts. The flora and fauna shown indicate a location in coastal Sudan or Eritrea. At least some Puntites visited
Egypt with their families, but it is unlikely that many settled there.
Recent Pages:
