The prehistoric origins of the domestic horse and horseback riding Les origines préhistoriques du cheval domestique et de l'équitation (original) (raw)
Related papers
The prehistoric origins of the domestic horse and horseback riding
Bulletins et mémoires de la société d'anthropologie de Paris
Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d' Anthropologie de Paris Cet article fait suite à une communication invitée présentée lors des 1847 es journées de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris dans le cadre de la session "Les relations entre les humains et les animaux" Abstract-The findings of Librado et al. (2021) show that modern domestic horses (DOM2) emerged in the lower Don-Volga region. They imply that horseback riding drove selection that resulted in these horses and fuelled their initial dispersal, and also that DOM2 horses replaced other horses because they were more suitable for riding due to their more docile temperaments and resilient backs. In this article, I argue that captive breeding of horses leading to their domestication began in about 4500-3000 BC in the Pontic-Caspian steppe and made horseback riding necessary because managing horses, and especially moving them over long distances, required mounted herding. Horseback riding had been experimented with since the second half of the 5 th millennium BC, became common around 3100 BC during the early stages of the Yamnaya culture, and necessary by the middle of the 3 rd millennium BC at the very latest. As horseback riding became more common, selection for malleable temperaments and resilient backs intensified, resulting in DOM2 horses by about 2300-2200 BC in the lower Don-Volga region. The body size and weight-carrying ability of ancestral and early DOM2 horses were not limiting factors for horseback riding. The initial dispersal of DOM2 horses was facilitated by horseback riding and began by about 2300 +150 BC. Chariotry began to spread together with DOM2 horses after 2000 BC, but its high archaeological visibility may have inflated its importance, since chariots are of limited practical use for herding and other daily tasks. Keywords-horses, domestication, selection, riding, chariotry lisation du char à deux roues s'est dispersée avec les chevaux DOM2 après 2000 av. J.-C., mais une grande visibilité archéologique peut avoir gonflé l'importance du char, qui a une utilité pratique quelque peu limitée dans l'élevage et d'autres tâches quotidiennes.
Envisioning Early Equestrianism: Clues from Archaeology and Ancient DNA
The origins of riding have been an elusive and contentious subject for archaeologists. Recent research in archaeology and ancient DNA (aDNA) have begun to clarify early riding and the genetic make-up of the first domesticated horses. In this paper, I pull together evidence from horse bones, human remains, the first bits, and aDNA of people and horses to explore what riding may have been like around 2000 BC. The function of early bits, bit-wear, horse size and conformation are examined with reference to archaeological finds and experimental study to produce a picture of what an early riding horse may been like and, along with human remains, how riding may have been practiced. This is augmented by aDNA information regarding coat color and what early people may have been selectively breeding for in horses. The form and function of the earliest bits will be familiar to most equestrians, as will the osteological changes in people and horses that occur from riding. I draw parallels to modern bits and bitting traditions to elucidate how basic practices of horsemanship have great antiquity. I conclude with a discussion about how the language between people and horses through horse training may have been part of the domestication process itself.
A detailed commentary is given on the article "First bioanthropological evidence for Yamnaya horsemanship" by Martin Trautmann et al. It is shown that the authors' conclusions about the early appearance of horse riding in the Yamnaya culture look unrealistic, since they do not take into account a number of factors, including: 1) Thousands of years before horses were domesticated, there was a real possibility of riding oxen and cows; 2) For horsemanship until the end of the 3rd millennium BC there were no conditions, including genetic ones, and there was no documentary evidence of real horsemanship; 3) Bioanthropological analysis of 21 features, carried out by A. Buzhilova on a representative sample from the central, rather than peripheral, region of the Yamnaya culture, led her to the conclusion that there were no traces of horsemanship on the skeletons of individuals until the end of the Bronze Age. The authors ignored this result and carried out their analysis only on 6 characteristics; 4) There is bioanthropological data on the movement of people of the Yamnaya culture not on horseback, but on foot during migrations; 5) The meat and sometimes dairy purpose of horses ("live canned food") has been precisely established; 6) There is another significant need for using horses: not for riding, but for obtaining food from under the snow for all other animals from the herd in harsh winters; 7) The individuals studied in the article, taking into account their height and weight, were physiologically unable to ride early horses; 8) The purely utilitarian purpose of the horse in the Yamnaya culture is confirmed by the absence of its cult images. This is in sharp contrast both to some earlier Neolithic and Eneolithic cultures, and to later ones that existed after the domestication of the horse at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. At the same time, we have shown that the cult of the horse in Indo-European cultures and the appearance of scepters with the image of a horse's head are not directly related to the early horsemanship assumed by the authors, but are most likely associated with religious ideas and have direct analogies (like some other cultural and religious markers Indo-Europeans) even in previous cultures of the northern Mesolithic, in the form of the cult of the Heavenly Elk or the Heavenly Moose, using the corresponding scepters with the image of an elk's head.
Archeologické rozhledy
The great importance of the domestic horse in human history and culture has long made it a significant subject of research. The historical role of the horse and new studies and discoveries that are key to understanding its domestication provided the impetus for this paper. The review presents and discusses the current state of know ledge and ideas concerning the origins, domestication, early history, historical roles, and exploitation of this domestic animal from central European and global perspectives. Ecological, biological, phylogenetic, archaeological and historical aspects are combined to explore the issue in a comprehensive manner and to provide insights into various scientific fields and the different regions of Eurasia.
Animals 10 (12), 2020
The following article concerns the functional use of horse bones in the early Middle Ages (mainly in the period from the mid of the 10th to the 12th/13th century). The authors try to explain how such remains were used and how common it was. It is also discussed whether the special role of the horse in medieval societies somehow restricted its post-mortem usage, or perhaps there was no difference between the skeletal remains of horses and other species in this regard. For this purpose, statistical calculations on the use of the bones of various mammals were made. Only the remains of the species determined during the archaeozoological analysis were taken into account. The specific use of individual parts of a horse skeleton was also noted. In addition, the analysis also encompasses all other types of horse remains that could be used by humans (hide, hair, etc.). The consumption of horse meat was discussed separately: on the basis of the preserved traces, an attempt was made to determine whether it had happened, and if so, how popular it had been. Overall, such comprehensive analysis aims to show the various roles of the horse. It was not only a mount, but also a beast of burden, a source of food and raw material as well. The main purpose of this study is to describe the role of horses in human medieval societies of Ostrów Tumski on the basis of accessible equid remains. The highlighting of the human–horse relationship in the past allows us to understand the importance and value of the horse both as a life companion and the source of food or leather and bone tools.