SoA Forum

History => Ancient and Medieval History => Topic started by: Duncan Head on Jan 17, 2023, 06:18 PM

Title: Donkeys in antiquity
Post by: Duncan Head on Jan 17, 2023, 06:18 PM
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230116-how-donkeys-changed-the-course-of-human-history

QuoteAt the site of a Roman villa in the village of Boinville-en-Woƫvre, a team unearthed the remains of several donkeys that would have dwarfed most of the species we are familiar with today.

"These were gigantic donkeys," says Ludovic Orlando, director of the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, at the Purpan Medical School in Toulouse, France. "These specimens, which were genetically linked to donkeys in Africa, were bigger than some of the horses."
Title: Re: Donkeys in antiquity
Post by: Erpingham on Jan 17, 2023, 07:06 PM
They may have to revise the Christmas song for greater historical accuracy

Giant donkey, Giant donkey
On the dusty road
Gotta keep on plodding onward
With your precious load


Interesting though.  France remains one of the places with traditional donkey breeds approaching the size of the archaeological ones, which were used in mule breeding.  Whether there is any continuity, I wouldn't know.
Title: Re: Donkeys in antiquity
Post by: Mark G on Jan 17, 2023, 07:38 PM
I thought we were about to invoke the no politics rule. 
But you actually meant ancient era donkeys, and not the House of Lords
Title: Re: Donkeys in antiquity
Post by: Justin Swanton on Jan 18, 2023, 09:18 AM
Quote from: Mark G on Jan 17, 2023, 07:38 PM
I thought we were about to invoke the no politics rule. 
But you actually meant ancient era donkeys, and not the House of Lords

Quite right Mark. We should avoid any mention of donkeys, apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, snakes, cockroaches, sloths, snails, scorpions, sharks, hawks, albatrosses, lizards, tics, worms and the like. This is an apolitical forum.  >:(
Title: Re: Donkeys in antiquity
Post by: Anton on Jan 18, 2023, 09:55 AM
Big donkeys, somehow I find that very heartening.