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When looking at the state of human civilization today, there is no doubt that animal
domestication is extremely important to our culture. Nearly every society seems to practice it,
and the utilization of it provides many uses for us including work, food, and transportation. One
domesticated animal that was historically and continues to be particularly important to humans is
the donkey. Though not as well-known as some of the other major domesticated animals such as
horses, pigs, or cows, its unique ability to carry heavy loads in a desert environment
revolutionized the way early domesticators of this animal were able to live and move, and the
donkey remains an important part of daily life for many cultures around the world today.
There is relatively little direct evidence regarding the timing and exact placement of the
earliest domestication of the donkey, but it is fairly evident that the modern donkey originated
somewhere in northeast Africa, and its domestication happened around six thousand years ago
(Rossel). Who domesticated it first and from what species it comes from remain unclear,
although there is some ancient and modern evidence relating to these questions. The timing of
previously thought that domestication events were rare and likely happened only once in a given
geographic area for most of the large domestic animals we have today, it seems likely that the
domestication of the donkey could have occurred more than once in the relatively small area of
northeast Africa (Rossel). This is for a variety of reasons. All modern donkeys are descendants
of the African wild ass, Equus africanus, though there are two clades of domestic donkeys today
that come from two distinct subspecies, the Nubian wild ass and the Somali wild ass (Rossel).
According to Juliet Clutton-Brock in her book Horse Power, the two wild subspecies differ
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Dr. Bill Lattin
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mostly in coloring and size (36). The Nubian wild ass has a noticeable stripe on its shoulders,
and the Somali wild ass has stripes on its legs and is distinctly taller and more horse-like than the
short and stocky Nubian wild ass (36). Clutton-Brock states that we can infer from ancient
Egyptian art that the domestic donkeys they used were descended from the Nubian wild ass, due
to their depiction as always having shoulder stripes and no leg stripes (36). The modern donkeys,
however, are often a mix of both subspecies, suggesting that either they were separately
domesticated and then bred, or that at some point during domestication the species descending
from the Nubian ass were intentionally placed near wild populations of Somali ass in hopes that
they would mate and produce stronger offspring (Clutton-Brock 36). Anthony Dent also states in
his book Donkey, that it seems likely that donkeys of each subspecies were separately
domesticated and bred together by humans multiple times in ancient history (28). Regardless of
the exact ancestral origin of the modern donkey, the amount of varying genetic and historical
evidence surrounding it suggests that the use and domestication of donkeys was probably quite
widespread, and likely stretches back further than we have direct evidence of (Kimura). The
earliest clear proof of domestication, however, dates to around 3000 B.C.E., and comes from
obvious signs of load bearing and morphological differences from wild asses on donkey
skeletons unearthed in a tomb at Abydos, Egypt (Rossel). Though this is officially the earliest
known evidence of the domestic donkey, the first domestication almost certainly predates this
significantly, but it is hard to identify an animal in the early stages of domestication because
morphological differences may not appear and their genetic makeup is only marginally different
from that of a wild ass (Kimura). Either way, this time is essentially where our history of the
domestic donkey begins. Based on what we know about donkeys and how ancient peoples in the
Brady Fraser
Dr. Bill Lattin
ENVS 484
6 September 2017
region lived, we can speculate on why the donkey was domesticated when it was and what it was
Before domestication the wild ass was already an animal suited well to doing work that
would benefit human societies. It can subsist on the dry grasses and shrubs found in the arid
landscape of northeast Africa, it has an adaptable metabolic rate, and it can survive for long
periods with little water due to multiple methods of water storing (Kimura). It was also hardy
and strong, capable of walking long distances with added weight. Since donkeys are not large
enough to ride, it follows that they were almost certainly domesticated for the purpose of pack-
carrying (Dent 32). This could have been for a variety of practical purposes. One possible
purpose is for the aid of nomadic cattle herders. Cattle were domesticated much earlier than
donkeys in this region, but as the land began to dry up, herding cattle became much more
difficult (Kimura). It is likely that as cattle herders had to travel farther and farther with less
resources in between grazing areas and watering holes, they began to take advantage of the
donkey, which needed far less resources than the cattle and was capable of carrying many useful
resources at the same time, including food and water (Dent 33). Historical evidence suggesting
this is limited, but the Masai of Kenya still live in exactly this way and it is reasonable to suspect
that other cultures did in the past as well (Dent 34). Donkeys of today are also used as draught
animals, or animals which are used to pull loads such as carts or ploughs, so it is possible that
they were used in this way in ancient Africa as well, but any consideration of this is mostly
speculation (Dent 33). Regardless of their exact use, domestic donkey skeletons have been found
dating to 3000 B.C.E., and they were widely depicted in ancient cave art and ancient Egyptian art
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Dr. Bill Lattin
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(Clutton-Brock). This array of evidence shows that the donkey played an important role in the
lives of many peoples even in the very early stages of human civilization.
According to Clutton-Brock, the first written record that exists regarding the use of
domestic donkeys comes from ancient Sumerian writings, dating to around 2500 B.C.E (89).
These detailed writings give us a much better idea of how donkeys were actually used in ancient
societies. They show that donkeys were commonly used in Sumer as draught animals, and small
number of a close relative of the donkey known as the onager, or Asiatic wild ass, was kept for
breeding with donkeys (Clutton-Brock 89). It would seem that because this cross breed was
stronger and larger than a regular donkey it would have replaced them entirely, but this is not the
case. One explanation for this is that modern breeding between domestic donkeys and onagers
today results in infertile offspring (Kimura). This could mean that by the time the domestic
donkey was used in ancient Sumer, it may have already diverged enough from its ancestral origin
so as to be separate from wild populations. This is significant because it again suggests that the
donkey specifically was extremely important to the way of life of these ancient peoples, and that
it was probably quite easy to use relative to other animals. Clutton-Brock gives multiple
examples of ancient use of the donkey in the Old Testament as well, with it being used for riding
as well as ploughing (94). It was also considered a high status symbol to have many donkeys,
again showing the cultural significance of the animal at the time. Dent’s interpretation of this is
that these early desert tribes “took the ass as their totem,” because it was “an animal that was so
superbly able to survive in the kind of country that they too were forced to inhabit as best they
could (39).” They felt a special connection the donkey, which explains its continued prevalence
As the donkey began to make its way into Europe, its use and importance in culture
shifted. According to Clutton-Brock, Roman records show that although the use of the donkey
was widespread, oxen were far more commonly used as a pack and plough animal, and horses
were used for riding and warfare (117). The donkey still had use as a pack and plough animal as
well, but it seems that it was more useful for breeding mules, which were as valuable as the most
noble horse stock of the time (Clutton-Brock 117). It follows, then, that even with a reduced role
as a beast of burden, donkeys continued to have value and importance in Roman life, albeit with
less prestige. They were also used in Greece during the same time period for more specialized
tasks such as tilling narrow vineyards and carrying grape panniers (Dent 49). As time went on,
though, the donkey became less favored in Europe. This is mainly due to two reasons. The first is
that the horse, and therefore the mule, are much more versatile in their use, with both being
suitable to riding, ploughing, or packing if necessary. The second is that as one moves northward
from the Mediterranean and eastward from Mesopotamia, the climate becomes much cooler and
more forested. The donkey is not suited well to either of these things naturally, so it makes sense
that its use declined as the climate continued to cool into the Middle Ages (Dent 57).
Despite its general decline in Europe, the donkey continues to be relevant in many parts
of the world today, particularly the ones with a climate most like the one of its wild ancestors,
and in these areas is actually showing significant population growth. World donkey population
grew from around 34 million in 1961 to 44 million in 1996, with more than one quarter of them
belonging to Africa (Starkey). Ethiopia and Egypt, the original homeland of both the wild ass
and the first domestic donkeys, unsurprisingly constitute the majority of that number (Starkey).
As a general rule, the drier the climate, the more donkeys live there and the more their
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Dr. Bill Lattin
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population is increasing (Starkey). The culture of these areas is also relatively non-industrial and
many styles of living that are similar to ancient peoples persist, so it makes sense that us of the
donkey in these areas is still prevalent. The other major region of the world where donkeys are
thriving is Latin America, with nearly one fifth of the world population residing there, and
approximately half of those in Mexico (Starkey). This makes sense given the similarity of the
Central American climate to that of northeastern Africa. In Frank Brooksheirs book The Burro,
he details a trip through Mexico where he notes encountering numerous donkeys used for various
purposes including traveling and milking on the spot for customers, and drinking beer and soft
drinks as a tourist attraction (233-234). Just driving through Mexico he counted over 1,200
donkeys in use in a wide variety of ways, showing that the donkey in these regions is still very
important to life in culture, with use not only for ploughing and packing but for milk and
Though the donkey may not be at the forefront of culture in the modern world, and is less
glamorous and widely used than the horse, it has been in the past and remains today an important
part of many cultures worldwide. Whether it be in Mexico, The Middle East, or its original
homeland in Africa, the donkey’s continued use in the modern world and its integral part in the
agriculture and transportation of some of the earliest civilizations make it one of the most
Works Cited
Rossel, Stine et al. “Domestication of the donkey: Timing, processes, and indicators.”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol.
Clutton-Brock, Juliet. Horse Power: A History of the Horse and Donkey in Human Societies.
Dent, Anthony. Donkey: The Story of the Ass from East to West. George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd,
1972.
Kimura, Birgitta, et al. "Donkey Domestication." African Archaeological Review, vol. 30, no. 1,
Starkey, Paul and Malcolm Starkey. “Regional and World Trends in Donkey Populations.”