And you think 5-10 km/h isn't a big difference? If so you are wrong.
Difference between being alive or dead in battle?
And you think 5-10 km/h isn't a big difference? If so you are wrong.
I imagine them as because they are consistently at all levels faster than humans by at least roughly 5 km/hDunno. These are species' best of the best. Average difference may be even less. Best humans can run over 35 km/h over short distances, too.
Long Story short: I'm surprised you imagine donkeys as faster-than-human animals. In my experience they are no sprinters.
That's not the point of speed in combat. A horse can't dodge arrows either, and they are actually more vulnerable to archery than infantry, since a horse is hard to armour and a large target. The point of speed is that it allows you to choose where and when to fight. If in unfavourable circumstances, cavalry(and asinary) can outrun infantry, while infantry that tries to flee cavalry will be mown down. The same principle applies to skirmishers vs. formed infantry, though skirmishers lack the shock power of cavalry and are therefore less decisive . Asinary will still have that advantage over infantry, though they won't be able to replicate the speed and power of heavy cavalry, and trying to outrun skirmishers and the like might get a bit hairy.Is that fast enought to make being hit by a spear or arrow more difficult?
that's OTL donkeys, never specially bred for speed. With 4000 years of specialized breeding and no horses, might not people selectively breed for speed and endurance? Even if a donkey could never match our best horse breeds, couldn't they be improved over such a long time?Maximum donkey speed is given by different online sources a between 30 and 45 km/h. Maximum human speed is for most people around 25 km/h over short distances, much less over longer distances, but still around 15 km/h over a few kilometers. I don't know how long donkeys can keep running at high speed.
I suppose the difference isn't huge.
Certainly. I was just arguing against the "discovery" of riding donkeys in combat situations into which one entered with donkey-pulled chariots, as these would be rather bred for strength and endurance than for maximum speed. If riding donkeys becomes a widespread norm somewhere, then breeding for speed would change things massively, I agree.that's OTL donkeys, never specially bred for speed. With 4000 years of specialized breeding and no horses, might not people selectively breed for speed and endurance? Even if a donkey could never match our best horse breeds, couldn't they be improved over such a long time?
Yeah, for the North, that sounds very sensible.Now for Eurasian steppe: If Eurasian hunters hunted down wild horses for extinction so is most species in steppe. So there won't be any steppe-culture. Instead there might be developed more wide spread Tundra/Siberian forest culture e.g reindeer herders aka Tungusic culture. So domesticated deer/reindeer could be used instead of horses.
Thanks @Mr.Wigglemunch for sharing your expertise on llamas!
If I´ll be doing this TL, you`re very welcome to contribute a TL-in-the-TL, or rather, to cover the Americas. My TL is exclusively focused on the Eastern Hemisphere, if I should do it. If you`re game, that would be great fun! You`d only have to tell me when the Inverse-Columbian Exchange would be so I don`t write ahead of it.
Hm. Or maybe the Western hemisphere civilizations will arrive in the East first. If I'll do it alone, that may be a good final point - the beginning of the Eurasian breakdown and its colonization by militarily and organizationally superior Amerindians...Thanks but I'll pass, but it'll be enjoyable if/when you turn your attention to the western hemisphere if the eastern hemisphere sailors are shocked by a bunch of horse cavalry storming their landing point.
Hm. Or maybe the Western hemisphere civilizations will arrive in the East first. If I'll do it alone, that may be a good final point - the beginning of the Eurasian breakdown and its colonization by militarily and organizationally superior Amerindians...
There will be different diseases affecting the Amerindians and Eurasians, both will take take a huge toll on the other until they build up immunity.Bonus if it's the Eurasians who wiped out by disease.
I think it could be said that natural human curiosity would lead to someone trying to ride an animal they were in close contact with - children jumping onto domesticated oxen, for example. From there, it doesn't seem too great a leap to trying to ride a donkey, without the need for the horse as an example.
(is there any evidence of Incas ever riding llamas? Even as children?)
I'm curious though, if the original domesticators of donkeys didn't ride them, what were they used for?
There will be different diseases affecting the Amerindians and Eurasians, both will take take a huge toll on the other until they build up immunity.