Mesopotamians were using hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to pull their war wagons 4,500 years ago – at least 500 years before horses were bred for the purpose, a new study reveals.
from animal bones unearthed in northern Syria resolves a long-standing question of just what type of animals were the"kungas" described in ancient sources as pulling war wagons.
The new study shows, however, that kungas were strong, fast and yet sterile hybrids of a female domestic donkey and a male Syrian wild ass, or hemione – an equid species native to the region.Ancient records mentioned kungas as highly prized and very expensive beasts, which could be explained by the rather difficult process of breeding them, Geigl said.
"They really bio-engineered these hybrids," Geigl told Live Science."There were the earliest hybrids ever, as far as we know, and they had to do that each time for each kunga that was produced – so this explains why they were so valuable."Detail of the"War panel" of the"Standard of Ur", exhibited in the British Museum, London. Teams of kunga pull the war wagons.
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