RT Journal Article
T1 Mules in the Antiquity of Southern Iberia revealed from proteomics
A1 Domínguez Castillo, Carmen
A1 Bernáldez Sánchez, Eloísa
A1 García Viñas, Esteban
A1 Rodríguez Gutiérrez, Oliva
A1 García Fernández, Francisco José
A1 Ramos Soldado, José Luis
A1 Ferrer Albelda, Eduardo
A1 Escacena, José Luis
A1 Medina Rosales, Nieve
A1 Bermejo Melendez, Javier
A1 Santos Arévalo, Francisco Javier
A1 Quintana Arnés, Begoña
A1 Gómez Martínez, Isabel
A1 Galván Moreno, José Antonio
A1 Villalón-Torres, David
A1 R. Hortal, Ana
A1 Pérez-Cardona, Antonio
A1 Cases, Ildefonso
A1 Martínez-Haya, Bruno
K1 Equids
K1 Hybrids
K1 Palaeoproteomics
K1 Archaeometry
K1 Iron age
K1 Antiquity
AB The management of equids in the Iberian Peninsula during the Iron Age (first millennium BCE) provides a key archaeological context for investigating the emerging stages of confluent breeding of horses (Equus caballus) and donkeys (Equus asinus). This scenario provided the earliest historical setting in Iberia conducive to the deliberate and systematic production of hybrids (mules and hinnies), with significant cultural and economic implications. In this study, high-resolution mass-spectrometry-based palaeoproteomics (MALDI-TOF and LC-ESI-orbitrap MS/MS) is employed to investigate the presence of equids and to identify molecular signatures of hybridization in the archaeological record of Southern Iberia. A systematic reassessment of collagen peptide biomarkers is presented, based on alignments of the corresponding coding DNA sequences, enabling the identification of reliable heterozygous markers diagnostic of equid hybrids. The materials analysed include twenty-two specimes from the Phoenician-Punic colonization of the Iron Age to the Roman period and Late Antiquity (7th century BCE to 6th century CE). Three of the specimens were identified as mules. The earliest mule is dated to 543–409 cal BCE and is associated to a pre-Roman Iron Age context in the lower Guadalquivir River basin, constituting the earliest direct biomolecular evidence to date for mule breeding in the region. The results demonstrate the value of palaeoproteomics as a complementary tool to osteomorphological analysis, to refine reconstructions of past animal husbandry practices and hybrid management strategies in complex archaeological contexts.
PB Elsevier
YR 2026
FD 2026-09-10
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/27496
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/27496
LA en
NO Journal of Archaeological Science 195 (2026) 106690
NO Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Centro de Nanociencia y Tecnologías Sostenibles (CNATS),
DS RIO
RD Oct 15, 2026