The "precise zoological classification" of these animals has eluded discovery, but "morphometric analysis of equids uncovered in rich Early Bronze Age burials at Umm el-Marra, Syria" offered a starting point for uncovering the animals' origins.
"We sequenced the genomes of one of these ~4500-year-old equids, together with a Syrian wild ass (hemippe) from Göbekli Tepe and two of the last surviving hemippes," the scientists said.
"We conclude that kungas were F1 hybrids between female domestic donkeys and male hemippes, thus documenting the earliest evidence of hybrid animal breeding."
The study says that hybrid animal breeding was performed in ancient
Mesopotamia "to generate animals famous for their power, both physical
and symbolic, in ancient warfare and diplomacy." JustNews