Earliest evidence for equid bit wear in the ancient Near East: The "ass" from Early Bronze Age Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel

Household Rituals and Merchant Caravanners: The Phenomenon of Early Bronze Age Donkey Burials from Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel

Simple Summary

The goal of this study is to increase our understanding of the role of ritual in the domestic residences of commoners in early complex societies in the ancient Near East. Most archaeologists have concentrated their research on rituals taking place in the public and administrative areas of early cities (e.g., temples and palaces). However, the bulk of the population lived in simple domestic residences and were not involved in the public ritual displays except as onlookers. We present the results of our recent excavations at the Early Bronze Age site of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel. Our excavations at the site have uncovered the remains of early domestic donkeys and other goods that were buried as the neighbourhood was constructed and houses were renovated. These provide insight into the role of ritual in everyday life for most people in these early cities. As the donkey burials are very limited in their location in these early cities, we propose that such residences were inhabited by merchant families.

Abstract

Most studies of ritual and symbolism in early complex societies of the Near East have focused on elite and/or public behavioural domains. However, the vast bulk of the population would not have been able to fully participate in such public displays. This paper explores the zooarchaeological and associated archaeological evidence for household rituals in lower-stratum residences in the Early Bronze Age (EB) of the southern Levant. Data from the EB III (c. 2850–2550 BCE) deposits excavated at the site of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel, are illustrative of the difficulty in identifying the nature of household rituals. An integrated analytical approach to the architecture, figurines, foundation deposits, and domestic donkey burials found in lower-stratum domestic residences provides insights into the nature of household rituals. This integrated contextual perspective allows the sacred and symbolic role(s) of each to be understood and their importance for EB urban society to be evaluated.

A New Approach of Sperm Motility Subpopulation Structure in Donkey and Horse

This study aimed to characterize the sperm kinematic values with high frames per second, to define the subpopulation structure of a horse and a donkey and compare them. A total of 57 fresh semen ejaculates (26 Spanish and 16 Arabian horse breeds and 10 donkeys) were collected and subsequently analyzed for kinematic parameters using the Computer-aided sperm motility analysis ISAS®v1.2 system and using a Spermtrack® 10-μm depth counting chamber. Sequences were recorded at 250 frames per second, and eight kinematic parameters were automatically evaluated. All kinematic parameters showed significant differences between a donkey and a horse and between horse breeds. All ejaculates evaluated showed excellent semen motility characteristics, with significantly higher values for all kinematic parameters for donkeys compared with horses except for beat-cross frequency. Donkey sperm was faster and linear than the horse. Regarding horse breeds differences, the Spanish horse had higher average path velocity, curvilinear velocity, and beat-cross frequency compared with the Arabian horse. Spanish horse sperm was rapid, but Arab horse was more linear. The principal component analysis showed three sperm subpopulations in the ejaculate of donkeys and horses with a significantly different motility characteristic between them. The dominant subpopulation for both donkey and horse was for rapid, straight, and linear with a high beat sperm (38.2 and 41.7%, respectively), whereas the lowest subpopulation was for the slowest and non-linear sperms. This, plus slight differences in the distribution of these subpopulations between Arabian and Spanish horses, were found. In conclusion, higher frames permitted to have a new interpretation of motile subpopulations with species and breed differences. More so, future works on donkey and horse breed spermatozoa should take into account differences between breeds that may interfere and alter the real analysis performed.