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The origins of horseback riding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

David W. Anthony  and
Dorcas R. Brown
David W. Anthony
Affiliation:
Hartwick College, Oneonta NY 13820, USA
Dorcas R. Brown
Affiliation:
Hartwick College, Oneonta NY 13820, USA
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Extract

The horse is ridden by means of the bit, and the bit leaves its trace on the horse's teeth. The beginnings of horse-riding are here identified by defining and detecting microscopic bit wear on equid teeth, using comparative samples from 4 countries and 25,000 years of prehistory. Scanning electron microscope analysis demonstrates that bit wear is clearly distinguishable from other tooth damage. It first occurs in the Ukraine, USSR, at about 4000 BC. Soon thereafter, mobility became a cultural advantage that transformed Eurasian societies. Riding now appears to be the first major innovation in land transport, pre-dating the wheel.

Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 65 , Issue 246 , March 1991 , pp. 22 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 1991

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