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Donkey Domestication

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Abstract

Donkeys are one of the least studied large domestic animals, even though they are economically important in many regions of the world. They are predominantly used as transport animals. Consequently, they are not kept in large numbers and this limits the number of archaeological specimens available for study. The donkey’s closest relative is the African wild ass, and genetic studies and zooarchaeological analyses of early donkeys indicate domestication of two genetically separate groups of wild asses in Africa. Maternal relationships revealed by mitochondrial DNA show that one group of donkeys was derived from the Nubian wild ass and that one was derived from an unknown ancestor distinct from the Somali wild ass.

Résumé

Les ânes sont l’un des animaux domestiques grands moins étudiés bien qu’ils soient très importants économiquement dans plusieurs regions du monde. Les ânes sont usés principalement comme des animaux du transport. Par conséquence ils ne sont pas maintenus en grand nombre et donc il y a une limitation des nombres des specimens qu’on peut étudier de manière archéologique. Le parent le plus proche est l’âne sauvage d’Afrique. Des études génétiques et zooarchéologiques indiquent la domestication des deux groupes génétiquement distincts des ânes sauvages d’Afrique. Les relations maternelles indiqués par l’ADN mitochondrial démontrent qu’un groupe dérivent des ânes de Nubie et que l’autre groupe dérivent des ânes inconnus qui sont différents de l’âne sauvage de Somalie.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Diane Gifford-Gonzalez for asking us to participate in this special issue of African Archaeological Review and to Olivier Hanotte for his enthusiasm regarding the potential of donkey genetics, as well as his 2002 introduction of Marshall and Beja-Pereira. This synthesis is based on primary research conducted and published with many colleagues. We are indebted to P. Moehlman, H. Yohannes, F. Kebede, and R. Teclai for their work on Somali wild ass and collaboration on genetic research. We have also benefitted greatly from the participation and expertise of N. Tuross, S. Chen, and S. Rosenbom in laboratory research. We are deeply grateful to the following individuals and institutions for providing archaeological or historic specimens for aDNA analysis: R. Sabin, L. Chaix, M. Harman, P. Kiura, L. Khalidi, C.P. Jenkins, P.R. Kraft, C. Lewis, R. Meadow, W. van Neer, W.A. Viccari, W. Wendelen, and The Bavarian State Collection for Zoology, Munich; Civic Natural History Museum, Verona; Institute of Human Palaeontology, Rome; Kenya National Museums, Nairobi; Natural History Museum, Geneva; Natural History Museum, London; National Museum Sana’a; Powell-Cotton Museum, Kent; Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren; University of Rome; Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Current syntheses rest on the basis provided by an earlier generation who cared about wild ass and donkeys including: J. Clutton-Brock, C. Grigson, C. Groves, and H.-P. Uerpmann. We have also benefited from conversations with Equid colleagues working in different directions: R. Blench, E.-M. Geigl, S. Olsen, G. Thierry, E. Vila, and J. Weber, and from the insightful comments of the anonymous reviewers. Laboratory studies were funded by National Science Foundation grant BCS-0447369 (FM) and FCT grants (PTDC/BIA/BDE/64111/2006) (ABP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Program, Perry Center for Emerging Technologies, Santa Fe College, 14180 NW 119th Terrace, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA

    Birgitta Kimura

  2. Department of Anthropology, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Fiona Marshall

  3. Centro de Investigacao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos (CIBIO-UP), Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrario de Vairao, Porto, 4485-661, Portugal

    Albano Beja-Pereira

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 103610, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA

    Connie Mulligan

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  1. Birgitta Kimura
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Correspondence to Birgitta Kimura.

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Kimura, B., Marshall, F., Beja-Pereira, A. et al. Donkey Domestication. Afr Archaeol Rev 30, 83–95 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-012-9126-8

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