The Mule as a Cultural Invention

Abstract

Must technology concern itself only with mechanical inventions and devices? Of course not. Not only were many important discoveries made before the invention of machines, but the domestication of plants and animals led to an understanding of plant and animal reproduction and to the improvement of plant and animal species.' It is not surprising, therefore, that most historians of technology recognize that such subjects as animal husbandry form an integral part of their field. Thus, the monumental History of Technology includes material on the domestication of animals.2 Selective breeding of animals is discussed by Lynn White, jr.,3 and Robert J. Forbes finds the consideration of the camel appropriate to his researches.4 If such distinguished scholars have considered these subjects properly a part of technology, how much more essential is it to study a true cultural invention-the deliberate creation of a new animal species: the mule?