The “humble” mule is living technology. An intentional hybrid between two related species that, ideally, gets the best traits of both. Mules tend to be smart, tough, sometimes a little too smart, but slower than horses.

Mules have been used for centuries, possibly millennia, as riding and work animals, particularly for pack work. The west was won, in part, on the backs of mules.

But when did humans first start breeding mules?