Posted on Mar 3, 2023
Scientists find signs of horse riding in ancient human remains
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https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/ [login to see] /scientists-find-signs-of-horse-riding-in-ancient-human-remains
Horseback riding was likely a common activity as early as 4,500 to 5,000 years ago, according to a provocative new study that looked at human skeletal remains for small signs of the physical stress associated with riding horses.
People first started keeping horses about 5,500 years ago, initially for their meat and milk, researchers believe. But how and when horses became a transformative mode of transportation isn't so clear.
"Cattle and sheep and goats were domesticated thousands of years before horses were. And horses are different from cattle and sheep and goats, in that they are essentially a transportation technology," says David Anthony, an emeritus professor of anthropology with Hartwick College.
Horses began living with humans before the invention of the wheel, and horse-drawn chariots first appeared around 4,000 years ago. About a thousand years later, there's an explosion of horses and horse-related themes depicted in artwork. And scientists have tried to collect other forms of evidence to home in on when horse riding may have first emerged.
Horseback riding was likely a common activity as early as 4,500 to 5,000 years ago, according to a provocative new study that looked at human skeletal remains for small signs of the physical stress associated with riding horses.
People first started keeping horses about 5,500 years ago, initially for their meat and milk, researchers believe. But how and when horses became a transformative mode of transportation isn't so clear.
"Cattle and sheep and goats were domesticated thousands of years before horses were. And horses are different from cattle and sheep and goats, in that they are essentially a transportation technology," says David Anthony, an emeritus professor of anthropology with Hartwick College.
Horses began living with humans before the invention of the wheel, and horse-drawn chariots first appeared around 4,000 years ago. About a thousand years later, there's an explosion of horses and horse-related themes depicted in artwork. And scientists have tried to collect other forms of evidence to home in on when horse riding may have first emerged.
Scientists find signs of horse riding in ancient human remains
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
Horses and Horseback Riding
Ancient History
Horses and Horseback Riding Ancient History
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Pre-modern horses, however, were likely nervous and easily spooked, so their initial uses might have been modest.
"They probably were not suitable to be ridden into anything like a violent confrontation," says Anthony, suggesting that people on horses could have just herded larger groups of sheep or goats, and that it wasn't until much later that horses became a powerful weapon in warfare and conquests.
But who first had the bright idea of trying to ride a large, potentially dangerous animal like a horse? Anthony thinks it's something that would only occur to someone looking for a thrill, someone who wouldn't mind repeatedly getting thrown off.
"If you were, say, 12 years old, you know, and your sense of fear was not as highly developed," says Anthony, adding that he thinks the first people to ride horses "were probably adolescents who were challenging each other to try again."
..."Pre-modern horses, however, were likely nervous and easily spooked, so their initial uses might have been modest.
"They probably were not suitable to be ridden into anything like a violent confrontation," says Anthony, suggesting that people on horses could have just herded larger groups of sheep or goats, and that it wasn't until much later that horses became a powerful weapon in warfare and conquests.
But who first had the bright idea of trying to ride a large, potentially dangerous animal like a horse? Anthony thinks it's something that would only occur to someone looking for a thrill, someone who wouldn't mind repeatedly getting thrown off.
"If you were, say, 12 years old, you know, and your sense of fear was not as highly developed," says Anthony, adding that he thinks the first people to ride horses "were probably adolescents who were challenging each other to try again."
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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