Donkeys

Travel was a crucial element of ancient Egyptian culture. An extensive traffic system by land and by water already existed as early as the Old Kingdom, including various means of transport that did not fundamentally change right through to the New Kingdom. Traveling activity attested for various professions demonstrates that Egyptian society exercised a high degree of mobility. In the majority of cases, a journey was undertaken within the scope of the traveler’s work and on behalf of the pharaoh. Travel had a significant impact on the Egyptian world-view as well as on the development of the
identity of Egyptian society as an entity.

Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Africa and Asia and the organization of early cities and pastoral societies. Genetic research suggests an African origin for the donkey, but pinpointing the timing and location of domestication has been challenging because donkeys are uncommon in the archaeological record and markers for early phases of animal domestication are hard to determine. We present previously undescribed evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and new paleopathological indicators for early phases of donkey domestication. Findings are based on skeletal data from 10 ≈5,000-year-old ass skeletons recently discovered entombed in an early pharaonic mortuary complex at Abydos, Middle Egypt, and a concurrent study of 53 modern donkey and African wild ass skeletons. Morphometric studies showed that Abydos metacarpals were similar in overall proportions to those of wild ass, but individual measurements varied...

Hikayat Abi l-Qasim al-Baghdadi (The Portrait of Abu l-Qasim al-Baghdadi) is an 11th-century Arabic work by Abu l-Mutahhar Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Azdi which tells the story of a Baghdadi party-crasher crashing a party in Isfahan. It is introduced by its author as a microcosm of Baghdad. This work, written in prose but containing numerous poems, is widely hailed among scholars as a narrative unique in the history of Arabic literature, but The Portrait also reflects a much larger tradition of banquet texts, from "Trimalchio's Dinner Party" and Plato's Symposium to the works of Rabelais. It also paints a portrait of a party-crasher who is at once a holy man and a rogue, a figure familiar among scholars of the ancient Cynic tradition or other portrayals of wise fools, tricksters, and saints from literatures around the Mediterranean and beyond. While some early scholars of The Portrait dismissed it as disgusting and obscene, this work, with its wealth of material-cultural, philosophical, spiritual, and literary treasures, is much more than just a "dirty book". Following an introduction, which offers new insights into the relationship of the work to both its Greek predecessors and to its European descendants, the volume presents a new, improved edition of the Arabic text, together with a richly annotated translation, that aims at being both scholarly and readable, reflecting the often racy style of the Arabic. This makes it not only useful to specialists and students of medieval Arabic literature, but also accessible to a much wider general readership of those interested in comparative literature or "world literature". There are extensive indexes of names, places, subjects, and rhymes.

In ancient Egyptian religion, the donkey is generally associated to Seth and to its manifestation as a donkey and in the Graeco-Egyptian papyri Seth and the donkey are also commonly identified with Typhon. However, in a few spells the donkey occurs as a ritual and sacrificial animal, not necessarily in relation to the god Seth but just as an example of materia magica. In this article, on the basis of Betz's English translation of the Graeco-Egyptian magical papyri, those spells of the PGM corpus, where the mention of the donkey or of parts of its body and fluids occurs, are listed and discussed in relation to the magical and ritual meaning of the donkey/ass within the PGM. In particular, two thematic groups of spells will be distinguished: those where the donkey is clearly associated to the Egyptian god Seth and the Greek Typhon, and those where the animal seems to be only an example of " material magica " .

In ancient Egypt a very high mobility is attested since earliest times. Workers, officials and even Pharaoh
himself were on the move. The means of locomotion they used on their journeys were the same, no matter if
the travels led through the Nile Valley or through the desert. The oldest mode of travel was simply to walk,
carrying one’s personal belongings and supplies. Chariots and carrying chairs were used as well as donkeys
and horses for riding. Freight was transported by donkeys or with sledges, carts and wagons drawn by oxen.
The motivation to start a journey was not to search for food, but for professional reasons. Food and water for
the travelers and the pack or riding animals had to be taken along. If the journey was of any great length, however,
the traveler would have to rely on wells, cisterns or water deposits along the desert routes. Therefore,
much organization and calculation referring to the carrying capacity of the pack animals and the weight of
freight and supplies was needed. To calculate a day’s journey, the traveling speed was of great importance.

Keywords: donkey, camel, horse, traveling speed, chariot, sledge, cart, wagon

The traditional brick making industry is the backbone of
urban development throughout South Asia. It employs
millions of people and hundreds of thousands of animals
working in extremely hazardous and tough conditions.
It also generates highly pollutant emissions. From the
sourcing of its workforce to its socio, economic and cultural
underlying factors, the brick making industry is complex
and has manifold dimensions that make addressing the
challenges it faces extremely difficult.

Despite its significant impact on people, animals and the
environment, the traditional brick making industry has
received little political attention and remains largely free
from operating without being made accountable for its use
and treatment of workers and animals, working conditions
and its impact on the environment.

This report aims to increase knowledge and understanding
of the brick making industry in South Asia with a particular
focus on four countries - Afghanistan, India, Nepal and
Pakistan. It focuses on the critical linkages between the
human, animal and environmental sectors and highlights
the main challenges faced by the industry today, as well
as the political, economic, social and cultural obstacles to
change. It seeks to foster a constructive dialogue with all
key stakeholders at the national, regional and international
levels, identify pathways for making positive, sustainable
changes, and for promoting a collaborative approach that
could transform the industry in the region.

Μια ερμηνευτική προσέγγιση της μεσσιανικής Εισόδου του Χριστού κατά το Πάσχα του Πάθους, μέσα από τις βιβλικές και απόκρυφες πηγές, αναζητώντας στην προφητική εκπλήρωση, τα σκιώδη και τα εθνικά παράλληλα, καθώς και την παλαιοχριστιανική και βυζαντινή τέχνη

In this article, the stories of Balaam's donkey (num. 22.22-35) and the man of God from Judah (1 Kgs 13) are analyzed independently and are also compared for similarities. Features that are common to both accounts include: the importance of the word of Yhwh, the employment of animals as literary characters, the motif of death, and the portrayal of animals as divine agents. This study argues that the literary function of animals as divine agents is a distinctive characteristic of the so-called preclassical phase of biblical prophecy.

Donkeys were essential in ancient Egyptian trade and agriculture, but their value was nuanced by their perception in religion. The animal appears in funerary, magical or ritual sources, where it often reflects an ambivalent nature, while its well-known association to the evil god Seth is constantly reminded in the modern literature.

Either benevolent or evil, donkeys are ambiguous entities that can be recognised as dreadful beings possessing powers praised for their protective efficiency. Although they can be associated to Seth, they also followed their own path. In magical texts, the animal was feared and revered at the same time, becoming a powerful entity holding spears and evoked as a protector, while in the context of the temple it will be annihilated as the archetype of evil.

By exploring iconographical, textual and archaeological sources spanning from Predynastic to Roman times, this monograph explores the role of donkeys in ancient Egypt from a religious perspective.

https://www.sidestone.com/books/sur-les-pas-de-l-ane-dans-la-religion-egyptienne

This study provides the most comprehensive archaeological survey of deliberate donkey burials in the ancient Near East. It comprises the updated results from a chapter of my doctoral dissertation — The Ceremonial and Symbolic Significance of Donkeys in the Biblical World (Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 2006). First, donkey burials from sites in Egypt, Israel-Palestine, Syria, and Iraq are summarized in a brief historical overview that spans the entire 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Second, the donkey burials are interpreted under the rubric of five ceremonial contexts — those associated with human graves, those unrelated to human graves, those situated beneath walls, those situated in a fill covering a temple complex, and finally, those situated in a special tomb beside a temple. This study demonstrates that the donkey held a special status in the ceremonial practices of the ancient Near East.

Quand il est fait mention du transport dans l’Égypte pharaonique, la première image qui vient à l’esprit est celle de bateaux transportant blocs de pierre et monolithes pour fournir en matière première le chantier d’un temple ou d’une pyramide. Pourtant, le transport terrestre est à l’époque très développé. Répondant à des besoins quotidiens, acheminement de denrées, de mobiliers, de produits agricoles ou bien encore de matériaux de construction divers, son usage est très bien documenté, principalement grâce aux représentations conservées dans les tombes et mastabas, mais également grâce aux textes ou au matériel et structures de cheminement retrouvés lors de fouilles archéologiques.

When transport in Pharaonic Egypt is mentioned, the first image that comes to mind is of boats transporting blocks of stone and monoliths to supply raw materials for the building site of a temple or of a pyramid. Yet, land transport was, at that time, very developed. Answering daily needs such as the conveyance of food, of furniture, of agricultural produce or even of various building materials, its use is very well documented, mainly thanks to depictions preserved in mastabas or private tombs, but also thanks to texts or to transport equipment and structures found during archaeological excavations.

The Deir 'Alla Plaster Text and Numbers 22–24 are the most substantial textual witnesses regarding the Balaam traditions. The fact that both of these sources exhibit the prominent use of animals indicates that a distinctive feature of the Trans-Jordanian Balaam traditions is the attention given to animal activity / imagery. Not only do both of these texts feature common animals (e. g., birds and asses), they both also depict animals using the convention of role reversal and the attribution of speech. Balaam's preoccupation with the animal world is explained by the likelihood that Balaam was an expert in the interpretation of omens—especially omens concerning unusual animal behavior.

The notices about the so-called " minor judges " (Judg 3:31; 10:1–5; 12:8–15) are strategically arranged in the literary structure of the book of Judges. They are " minor " only in the sense that they are shorter than the other stories, but their selective thematic emphases (especially on foreign deliverers, royal aspirations, outside marriages, " canaanization, " the number twelve, etc.) indicate that they are included with editorial purpose. The minor judges therefore have major importance for understanding the theological message of the book.

Sixty one species of coprophilous fungi distributed in 39 genera were recorded from dung of goat, feral donkey and one-humped camel collected from the arid desert areas of the Saint Katherine Protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt. The samples were collected on a monthly basis from October 2012 to March 2013, dried, taken to the laboratory and incubated in moist chambers for 6 to 20 weeks. Morphological features of sporulating ascomycetes were used to characterize and identify the species. Higher number of taxa was observed in feral donkey dung, followed by camel and goat dung. On the generic level, Chaetomium came first, accommodating the highest number of species (7), followed by Fusarium, Pilobolus and Thielavia. Coprinopsis stercorea is apparently a new record for Egypt. Collections are described and the occurrence and distribution of species is discussed, supplemented with a dichotomous key to all reported taxa.

SUMMARY: Lecture-11 provides a broad overview of Canaan and late Middle Kingdom Egypt (MB IIA/B), the fall/decline of the Middle Kingdom, the rise of the Hyksos and Second Intermediate Period (especially at Tell ed-Dab'a), the rise of the reduced, indigenous Egyptian kingdom of the Thebans (in central-southern Egypt), the Theban struggle to reunite Egypt, and the final expulsion of the Hyksos and foundation of an Egyptian empire in Canaan, This lecture is designed mainly as an educational resource/aid for college students (i.e., normally posted only on my institution's course website), the public (e.g., people auditing my course), and interested colleagues from other disciplines (to whom I periodically provide copies privately).  I am posting it here, both as a broader access, educational tool, and especially to promote the study of this region and its past societies.  For further knowledge about this region and period, I refer interested parties to the textbooks and other sources from which the initial materials were extracted for this ppt. (see syllabus; e.g., initially Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible), and/or the bibliographies in these works and my online resource guides (see other files in my academia folders).  Much of this and the other lectures summarize the pertinent materials in the course textbook(s), add in other data, including my own research materials, and furnish numerous images to clarify/illustrate the wealth of information encountered in the textbook(s).  Some generic imagery (usually indicated as such) is posted to aid in transmitting various concepts visually, and/or when a specific image remains not located (temporarily).  I update and revise such lectures each time, with such elective courses normally being taught once every two years.  I try to cover the most current, mainstream views, and usually place summary notes at the end of each lecture (or in separate test study guides).  Over time, each lecture is improved, errors rectified, and additional data placed within the lecture.  These ppt. lectures take many hours to compile, but they have proved useful to many of my more serious students (who have since pursued graduate degrees), and a few colleagues, who, like me, often teach outside our main fields of specialty, and I hope they can be of benefit to others as well.  My apologies for any errors I may have made (over time, as I teach this course every two years, I try to rectify any errors that might slip in inadvertently), and for my liberal usage of educational imagery from professional sources and vetted internet sources.  UPDATES: Sept. 29, 2023 (revised formatting, some new text and some images, especially Abydos and King Seneb-Kay).

The objective of this study is to define domestic donkey giving some information about
species characters including taxonomy, origin, terms, ecology, form, lifespan, behaviour,
vocal expression, colour, markings, and relationships with other species, religion and
myth.The donkey is an odd-toed ungulate. Donkeys may be the only hoofed animal
domesticated first in Africa, and apparently the first to be domesticated for transport. In the
Middle East, in past centuries, there were special breeds of donkey reserved for royalty and
the nobility. Compared to a horse, a donkey seems slender and delicate.

In this study many types and breeds were revised including wild donkeys and domestic
breeds from various countries of the world.The donkey, or ass, is the smallest species in the
family Equidae. Itis known for its exceptionally long ears. The word ‘donkey’ refers to the
domesticated Equus asinus. The wild ancestor of donkey is equally deemed to be Equus
asinus, the African Wild Ass.They come in a variety of sizes and breeds, as do horses, and in
many countries the donkey is called as “the horse of the poor”.

Donkeys are odd-toed, short-legged and long ears Equidae. Donkeys are used as traction animals in rural areas for small-scale farmers. They are an important farm animal species which adapted to the different environments, hard conditions and harsh climates. Changes in motorized agriculture and transport caused an unfavourable situation for donkeys. In the future donkey will be a rising start, so it should be defined. The purpose of this study is to define the aspect of economic importance, uncommon usages, reproduction traits, genetics, nutrition and health care.

Donkey sentences have existential and universal readings, but they are not often perceived as ambiguous. We extend the pragmatic theory of nonmaximality in plural definites by Križ (2016) to explain how context disambiguates donkey sentences. We propose that the denotations of such sentences produce truth-value gaps — in certain scenarios the sentences are neither true nor false — and demonstrate that Križ’s pragmatic theory fills these gaps to generate the standard judgments of the literature. Building on Muskens’s (1996) Compositional Discourse Representation Theory and on ideas from supervaluation semantics, the semantic analysis defines a general schema for quantification that delivers the required truth-value gaps. Given the independently motivated pragmatic theory of Križ 2016, we argue that mixed readings of donkey sentences require neither plural information states, contra Brasoveanu 2008, 2010, nor error states, contra Champollion 2016, nor singular donkey pronouns with plural referents, contra Krifka 1996, Yoon 1996. We also show that the pragmatic account improves over alternatives like Kanazawa 1994 that attribute the readings of donkey sentences to the monotonicity properties of the embedding quantifier.

Club foot deformities were studied in 22 donkeys working in brick kilns. Evaluation of hoof capsule was carried out on hard concrete surface. Changes on the hoof capsule were observed from dorsal aspect, lateral aspect, palmar/planter aspect and distal or solar surface. Dorsal hoof wall angle for each hoof (toe angle) was taken using hoof gauge. According to toe angle club foot was classified into three degrees. The first degree the toe angles less than (<90 ͦ). The second degree the toe angles less or equal (≤130 ͦ) and the third degree more than (>130 ͦ). Club foot in donkeys displayed disparity, increased in heights and lengths associated with contracted heels. The digital cushion appeared atrophied associated with granulomatous inflammations. The third degree club foot revealed horn materials of sole, frog and digital cushion were destroyed and covered by hard keratin materials. The use toe angles for classification of club foot provide a reliable method. Radiography of the 3rd phalanx showed osteophytic and osteolytic changes. Soft tissue reaction and thickening with radio-opaque mass and calcification at palmar/planter structures were observed. Overworking, overloading and pain were considered the predisposing causes in brick kilns working donkeys.

This article explores the role of donkeys in ancient Egypt through a lexicographical lens. It presents the terminology used for the animal in religious texts focusing on three case studies. Firstly, the most common word used for donkey aA, which appears in economic, literary and religious texts, will be examined. The second section will look into the entity hiw opening to a world of fantastic beings and hybrid creatures. And finally we will see that the number of signs associated to donkeys multiplied in the Ptolemaic period and are generally connected with the god Seth. With these three short investigations, different facets of the donkey are explored, revealing an animal that can be both an evil being and a threatening tool.

Zech 9:9b features a clustering of donkey terms which each have a unique semantic range, but the nuances are often missed or distorted in the English versions.  In order to properly understand and translate Zech 9:9b, one must examine the lexical field for donkeys. Biblical Hebrew employs three terms for the domestic donkey/Equus asinus (hamor, ’aton and ‘ayir) and only one term for the hybrid (pered/pirdah).  This study clarifies the semantic ranges of these four terms and also compares/contrasts the terms in order to sharpen the semantic distinctions and to appreciate the degree of semantic overlap between them.

Reisen stellt sich als elementarer Faktor der ägyptischen Kultur dar. Ein sehr hoher Mobilitätsgrad  ist  in  allen  Gesellschaftsschichten  nachzuweisen.  Schon  im  Alten
Reich  existierte  ein  umfangreiches  Verkehrssystem,  bestehend  aus  Wasser-  und Landwegen sowie zahlreichen Fortbewegungs- und Transportmöglichkeiten, das sich
bis ins Neue Reich kaum noch veränderte. Die Grundlagen dafür wurden bereits in prä- und frühdynastischer Zeit geschaffen, wie im Folgenden dargelegt wird.

In this volume, Kenneth Way explores the role of donkeys in the symbolism and ceremonies of the biblical world. His study stands alone in providing a comprehensive examination of donkeys in ancient Near Eastern texts, the archaeological record, and the Hebrew Bible. Way demonstrates that donkeys held a distinct status in the beliefs and rituals of the ancient Near East and especially Canaan-Israel.

The focus on ceremony and symbol encompasses social and religious thoughts and practices that are reflected in ancient texts and material culture relating to the donkey. Ceremonial considerations include matters of sacrifice, treaty ratification, consumption, death, burial, "scapegoat" rituals, and foundation deposits; symbolic considerations include matters of characterization, association, function, behavior, and iconographic depiction. However, the distinction between ceremony and symbol is not strict. In many cases, these two categories are symbiotic. 

The need for this study on donkeys is very apparent in the disciplines that study the biblical world. There is not a single monograph or article that treats this subject comprehensively. Philologists have discussed the meaning of the Amorite phrase "to kill a jackass," and archaeologists have discussed the phenomenon of equid burials. But until now, neither philologists nor archaeologists have attempted to pull together all the ceremonial and symbolic data on donkeys from burials, ancient Near Eastern texts, and the Hebrew Bible. Way’s study fills this void.

You are walking through a tree shaded path and you encounter a donkey on parade. The walk is enchanting, with music, donkeys and goats, their caretakers, cooking appliances, and people preparing to sing when they reach their destination. The donkey is like a celebrity, with staff hovering nearby and people lining up for a closer look. People are starved for this kind of contact with an animal that is so unfamiliar, yet so ordinary that its presence seems like magic. The donkey is a gift, reminding us that families used to gift each other precious animals in the context of their particular rituals of the time. Bill Burns' drawings are small yet equally commanding invitations to contemplate how animals come to us and how we encounter other species on whom we rely in this late industrial age. The drawings also remind me that it is too soon to talk about a (post)industrial age.  The transport of animals and people to the New World was built on a callous calculation of life in relation to death, time, efficiency, and profit. Like the donkey, the animals and animal parts shown on the drawings in this exhibition are small, gleaming fragments of life floating through and away from such calculations. These drawings are so gentle they don’t seem to belong in the same lexicon, but they remind us of the world in which lives become commodities as they suffer the ships, boats and trains conveying them around the planet. Please, the sheep say to us, and the fish, and the bees, and the donkeys: pay attention.

Donkey is a member of horse family known as Equidae. It is a domesticated animal. The scientific name of donkey is Equus africanus asinus. The wild ancestor of donkey is the Wild African Ass. In the western United States a small donkey is sometimes known as burro. A male donkey is known as a jack while the female is called as jenny. The young ones less than one year are known as foal. Different members of the family Equidae can be taken for interbreeding and the resulting offspring is completely sterile. The horse/donkey hybrids are very popular for their vigour and durability. A mule is the offspring of male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare). The mating of a male horse and a female donkey produces hinny. Donkeys are under the process of domestication since 3000 BC when horses and donkeys arrived on planet earth. They fulfill a number of demands of humans especially by acting as burden carriers. The females normally remain pregnant for about 12 months but the gestation period continues for a period of 11-14 months. Usually a single foal is born. Twins are very rare about 1.7% Jennies are supposed to give birth to twins. The survival rate of the twins is only 14%.

Donkeys are an ancient component of Turkey’s domestic animal guild and have been important in the country’s
economy for hundreds of years. Turkey is a probable centre of the early use of donkeys in breeding of mules. In 2009
there were almost 300 000 donkeys in the country but numbers are declining rapidly. Three distinct types are catalogued
but very little is known about two of them and not much more about the widespread Anatolian type. Turkish donkeys
are typical of the world population in morphology and colour and are generally of small size. Donkeys were used by
both sides of the conflict in the Great War of 1914-1918. Employed historically as burden and riding animals these roles
continue. Use as prime movers and powe sources for agriculture and for wheeled transport is not very widespread but
there is some interest in their use for dietic milk. There are no breed societies and no conservation measures in place.
Continued downward pressure on numbers (in spite of local increases due to reactions against the cost of mechanized
replacements) will continue and will inevitably have a negative effect on an important part of Turkey’s cultural heritage
and its domestic animal biodiversity.

Notes to Isidore’s Passage on the Mule and Other Hybrids and on the Transmission to the Fetus of Images Seen by the  Mother: Critical commentary to Isidore of Seville’s passage on the types of horses, on the mule and other hybrid species, on the origin of hybridization, and on the transmission to the fetus of images seen by mothers at the time of conception or during pregnancy, followed by the edition and translation of the text (orig. 12,1,56-61 ). This is analyzed and interpreted in the light of the previous passage on horses and donkeys, and of the main known sources: Columella, Pliny, Servius, Soranus of Ephesus, Oppian of Apamea, Festus and Jerome. I present a new explanation to the etymology of mulus. I discuss some readings (simios/simias, animal/anima), and propose some corrections in relation to André’s edition of the book in 1986: honoribus/ honeribus, uel/μύλος, ad hoc/ab hoc, coitu/coitum, earum/eorum.

Modern sub-Saharan African studies on the recent adoption and impact of working-animal use provide valuable ethnographic insights for archaeologists into early exploitation of this new resource in antiquity. The systematic use of working cattle and (often forgotten in models) of donkeys constituted a key factor in the burgeoning of complex societies in fourth- and third-millennium BC Mesopotamia. Modern analogy indicates that models should include the economic importance of year-round utilisation of working animals and strategies for achieving this, including user training and animal hiring and lending. Another key finding is that the situation of women, commonly culturally constrained worldwide from handling cattle, is greatly ameliorated by the availability of donkeys, which can empower them in terms of income and status.

Eşek (Equus asinus), Ekideler (Equidae) Ailesinin, Equus (At) cinsine bağlı bir türdür. Eşek türü, Afrika’da
yaşayan eşekler ve Asya’da yaşayan yarı eşekler olmak üzere iki gruba ayrılır. Afrika’da yaşayan eşekler, Somali
Eşeği (Equus Asinus Somaliensis) ve Nubya Eşeği (Equus Asinus Africanus) olmak üzere iki çeşittir. Asya yarı
eşekleri ise Kulan (Equus hemionus) ve Onager (Equus onager) dir. Eşek aynı cins içinde olmakla birlikte, attan
bazı yönlerden ayrılır. Eşekte baş, ata göre daha uzundur. Eşeğin kulakları ata göre daha uzun, yele ve kuyruk kılları
daha kısadır. Eşeklerde bel omurları daima 5 adet ama atlarda 6 adettir. Sadece Arap Atı gibi bazı ırklarda 5 bel
omuru bulunur. Ayak bileklerindeki kestaneler yalnız ön bacaklarda bulunur. Eşeğin sesi yani anırması da sadece
kendine has olup, diğer bütün türlerden ayrılır. Eşekler ortalama 25-35 yıl yaşar. 4-5 yaşında iken vücut büyümesi
tamamlanır. Gebelik müddeti ortalama 12 aydır. Genellikle 1 yavru doğurmakla birlikte, ikiz yavrulamaya da
rastlanır. Eşekler zor çalışma ve yaşama şartlarına karşı dayanıklı bir hayvandır.

Alongside horses, donkeys and their  rst-generation hybrids represent members of the Equidae family known for their social, economic and symbolic importance in protohistoric and historical France. However, their relative importance and their respective roles in different regions and time periods are dif cult to assess based on textual, iconographic and archaeological evidence. This is both due to incomplete, partial and scattered historical sources and dif culties to accurately assign fragmentary archaeological remains at the proper taxonomic level. DNA- based methods, however, allow for a robust identi cation of the taxonomic status of ancient equine osseous material from minimal sequence data. Here, we leveraged shallow ancient DNA sequencing and the dedicated Zonkey computational pipeline to obtain the  rst baseline distribution for horses, mules and donkeys in France from the Iron Age to the Modern period. Our collection includes a total of 873 ancient specimens spanning 128 sites and comprising 717 horses, 100 donkeys, 55 mules and a single hinny individual. While horses were ubiquitous and the most dominant species identi ed, our dataset reveals the importance of mule breeding during Roman times, especially between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE (Common Era), where they represented between 20.0% and 34.2% of equine assemblages. In contrast, donkeys were almost absent from northern France as- semblages during the whole Roman period, but replaced mules in rural and urban commercial and economic centers from the early Middle Ages. Our work also identi ed donkeys of exceptional size during Late Antiquity, which calls for a deep reassessment of the true morphological space of past equine species. This study con rmed the general preference toward horses throughout all time periods investigated but revealed dynamic manage- ment strategies leveraging the whole breadth of equine resources in various social, geographic and temporal contexts.

Resumen: En este artículo se presenta el esbozo antropológico de un instrumento musical es-casamente abordado en el ámbito de la investigación musical en México: la quijada equina. Como un primer acercamiento se abordan algunas de las referencias históricas más tempranas de su presencia en América y se concretiza en aspectos específicos del instrumento. A la luz de dos tradiciones musicales —la Danza de los diablos y el son jarocho— se elabora un análisis de la quijada, no como instrumento musical en sí mismo sino como resultado de un complejo proceso de creación cultural y política, lo cual le confiere un peso significativo a su presencia en las tradiciones musicales mexicanas.

Analysis and interpretation of the passage of the Etymologies and of the treated words, including the correction of a few readings, and the revised text. We note its literary sources, and explain the author’s methodology and linguistic conception regarding the etymology and meaning of words. According to the underlying structure and scientific frame in which the text is supported, Isidore distinguishes wild asses and wild horses (onagri and equiferi) from the domestic ones (asini and equi). He divides asses into smaller working donkeys (aselli) and big asses (asini Arcadici), and horses into a vulgar class for pulling carts (ueredus), including a variety of minor size (mannus), and another class of noble saddle-horses, of which he mentions eight races according to their geographical origin. Among the crossbreeds he mentions the mule (mulus), the hinny (burdo) and the cross of a wild ass and a jenny.

Xylazine Hcl was generally used in veterinary medicine for its sedative and moderate analgesic effect. This experimental study was undertaken to determine the effect of repeated intravenous (IV) administration of xylazine on sedation and analgesia as well as cardiac arythemia using ECG in donkeys. Three repeated injections of xylazine (0.5 mg/kg) with 10 minute interval were injected IV in six healthy adult donkeys. Sedation score, analgesic score, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate, rectal temperature and ECG were recorded before and after 2, 5 and 10 minutes from injection for each injection and then at 5 minutes intervals until complete recovery from sedation and the normal ECG was recorded. Deep sedation was obtained 5 minutes after the second injection in all donkeys, and the length of sedation lasted 71 ± 6 minutes. The deep analgesia was obtained 5 minutes after the third injection in all donkeys, and the length of analgesia lasted 62 ± 5 minutes. There was a highly significant decrease in HR after the third injection (P < 0.05). Normal HR was obtained in all donkeys after 75 ± 10 minutes of the third injection. In addition to cardiac arrhythmia as atrial fibrillation and AV block which was recorded after the second and third injection. Repeated injection of xylazine Hcl give acceptable results either for sedation or cardiovascular parameters in donkeys.