Warriors on horseback arose on the Eurasian steppe no later than 1600BC – study
The remains of two horses found in a burial mound in Kazakhstan reveal important insights into early horsemen.
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History
Gender bias toward male horses goes back nearly 4000 years – study
This gender bias became entrenched around the start of the Bronze Age to a startling degree.
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Horse manure an unlikely ally in unmasking art forgeries
“Absolute dating of paintings that contain inorganic pigments has been achieved,” the study team concluded.
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Rereading Xenophon’s “On Horsemanship”
Whatever one’s discipline or its tutelary giants, rereading Xenophon of Athens, the celebrated horseman from classical antiquity, always repays the effort.
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Perfectly preserved wooden saddle is nearly 1700 years old
Researchers describe the Mongolia saddle as completely preserved.
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Stunning Roman-era horse brooch unearthed in England
“The horse would have originally appeared gold-like and the recesses probably once contained bright red, blue or yellow enamel. It would have been a spectacular sight on someone’s robe.”
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Remarkable 300,000-year-old throwing stick was probably used to hunt horses, say researchers
“They … can be used to kill or wound birds or rabbits or to drive larger game, such as horses, that were killed and butchered in large numbers in the Schöningen lakeshore.”
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Centuries old Norwegian mountain track that emerged from ice is still littered with horse dung
Ancient mountain pass was a veritable horse highway.
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Evidence found of horseman’s early, complex brain surgery in Ancient Greece
“The surgical operation is the most complex I have ever seen in my 40 years of working with anthropological materials.”
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Ancient labrador-sized horses grew even smaller: Scientists think they know why
Exceptionally well-preserved fossils in an area of eastern Germany provide important insights into life in the area 47 million years ago, including the abundant horses.
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Mysterious bone circles reveal clues about Ice Age life
“Archaeology is showing us more about how our ancestors survived in this desperately cold and hostile environment at the climax of the last ice age.”
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Chinese noblewoman had her polo-playing donkeys buried with her
Chinese nobility felt donkey polo was safer than playing the sport on larger horses.
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Kiwi showjumping pioneers, famous eventer Charisma honoured
New Zealand’s first Olympic showjumping team inducted into Equestrian Sports NZ Hall of Fame, along with double Olympic champion Charisma.
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How did the Mongolian empire feed its marauding horsemen?
Researchers sampled portions of teeth and rib bones from 137 previously excavated individuals from the Mongol Empire.
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Early evidence of horse milk consumption unearthed
Evidence suggests people may have begun to consume horse milk at the same time as they started to practice horse bridling and riding.
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Humans domesticated horses – new tech could help archaeologists figure out where and when
From the trade routes of the Silk Road or the great Mongol Empire to the equestrian nations of the American Great Plains, horses were the engines of the ancient world.
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Rise of the horse profoundly altered pastoral economies in eastern Eurasia – study
Horses have been linked to major changes in human mobility and social organization, particularly in Inner Asia.
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Cave art depicts donkeys or mules from 12,000 years ago
Small sandstone cave in the South Sinai had been used as an animal shelter in more recent times.
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Humans’ role in North American extinctions laid bare in research
Study dismisses the notion that humans are in some way separate from “natural” environments.
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Ancient DNA points to a much simpler family tree for horses, say researchers
Most ancient horse species were identified based on size differences. The DNA tells a different story.
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