Horse Domestication and Prehistoric Pastoralism by Alan Outram
Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 2023
For over a decade there has been general, but not universal, consensus that the earliest known ev... more For over a decade there has been general, but not universal, consensus that the earliest known evidence for horse husbandry was at Eneolithic Botai, Kazakhstan, circa 3,500 BCE. Recent ancient genomic analyses, however, indicate that Botai is not the source of modern domestic horse stock (DOM2 lineage), but is instead related to the Przewalski clade of horses. DOM2 appears to instead to have emerged in early Bronze Age (mid 3rd Mill. BCE) in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, and spread quickly replacing other horse lineages after approximately 2,000 BCE. Whilst the specific evidence for earlier husbandry at Botai is not diminished by this evidence, it has broken the consensus regarding the early stages of horse domestication, with some now viewing it as a later event. This paper argues that domestication is rarely an event, but instead a process that is ongoing. The case is made for a “prey pathway” initial phase of domestication in multiple localities during the Eneolithic, which was based around local subsistence pastoralist niche construction. This took different forms due to the presence or absence of ruminant domestic stock in the Eastern European or Central Asian steppes, respectively. Whilst “push” factors likely played a part in the development of horse specialist pastoralism at Botai, it is suggested that “pull” factors accelerated the spread of DOM2 lineages, replacing others, in the later Bronze Age. The DOM2 spread was principally driven, not by local subsistence needs, but wider social, economic and military desirability of equestrianism. The long-term process of horse domestication continues in modernity with major breed changes caused first by the post-medieval agricultural revolution and, more currently, the desire for sporting achievement.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, pastoralism can be defined as ‘the practice of keepin... more According to the Oxford English Dictionary, pastoralism can be defined as ‘the practice of keeping sheep, cattle, or other grazing animals’ and ‘the nomadic, non-industrial society that this implies’. The first part of this definition is very broad and would include a vast range of mixed farming practices as well as those based principally upon livestock. The second part of the OED definition raises some significant questions that will be revisited later in this chapter. To what extent are pastoralists bound to be nomadic? How can we investigate questions of mobility through archaeological research, and are highly mobile societies less visible in the archaeological record? What should we call animal herders in industrial societies, and how do they differ? This chapter, however, focuses on cultures that rely on the herding of animals for the majority of their subsistence, though some discussion of mixed farming regimes is important in setting the scene, in order to identify the origins of some herding practices and to help make comparisons with purely pastoralist economies. The chapter will first deal with key issues affecting the origins of pastoral societies, such as the circumstances of animal domestication, the supply of fodder, and the origins of dairying and wool exploitation. It will then deal with the issue of mobility and how to identify it. These sections will draw attention to the variety of methods that can be used to investigate the nature of pastoral economies and societies. While reference will be made, as appropriate, to pastoralist cultures worldwide, the chapter will focus primarily on Eurasia. The prehistoric sequence in Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, will serve as a case study for the archaeological analysis of the development of pastoral societies, and will also highlight how much research there still is to do.
In this paper, different definitions of animal domestication are examined. Methods for identifyin... more In this paper, different definitions of animal domestication are examined. Methods for identifying the domestication processes are outlined, including zooarchaeological and biomolecular techniques, along with archaeological evidence of associated economic and social changes. The extent to which animal domestications can be seen as hunter-gatherer innovations rather than a later addition by plant agriculturalists is discussed. The undisputed hunter-gatherer innovation of dog domestication is taken as a case study, and horse domestication in central Asia is also considered in depth. Other possible examples of domestication of animals by hunter-gatherers either before, or synchronously with, plant domestication are highlighted, including cattle in North Africa, camelids in South America, and reindeer in northern Eurasia. The reasons why animal domestication usually post-dates plant domestication are explored.
This paper presents direct radiocarbon measurements on horse skeletal remains from the Beaker per... more This paper presents direct radiocarbon measurements on horse skeletal remains from the Beaker period settlement at the site of Newgrange in Ireland, finds which have previously been argued as the earliest domestic horses in Ireland. The new determinations date the horse remains to the Irish Iron Age and shed important new light on the introduction of domestic horses to Ireland and to north-west Europe more generally. Although the new dates undermine the idea for the introduction of horses as part of a ‘Beaker package’, the early use of horse is not well defined archaeologically or chronologically and the earliest use of domestic horses in Ireland and Britain is still uncertain. This paper also identifies evidence for heavy bitting damage on the Iron Age Newgrange horse teeth and presents some possible parallels between the evidence from Newgrange and that at Tara, which has been previously linked with kingship rituals Origines du cheval domestique dans le nord-ouest de l'Europe:nouvelles datations directes des chevaux de Newgrange, Irlande, de Robin Bendrey, Nick Thorpe, Alan Outram et Louise H van Wijngaarden-BakkerCet article discute les mesures au C14 directes effectuées sur les restes d'un squelette de cheval d'une occupation de la période Beaker sur le site de Newgrange, en Irlande; trouvailles qui sont, a-t-on argumenté dans le passé, les plus anciens chevaux domestiques d'Irlande. Les nouvelles déterminations datent les restes de ce cheval de l’âge du fer irlandais et jettent une importante nouvelle lumière sur l'introduction des chevaux domestiques en Irlande et, plus généralement, dans l'Europe du Nord-ouest. Bien que les nouvelles datations sapent l'idée que l'introduction des chevaux faisait partie d'un ‘lot Beaker’, le début de leur utilisation n'est pas bien défini archéologiquement, ni chronologiquement, et la plus ancienne utilisation des chevaux domestiques en Irlande et en Grande-Bretagne reste aléatoire. Nous présentons des témoignages de gros dégâts de mors sur les dents du cheval de l’âge du fer de Newgrange et discutons de possibles parallèles entre les témoignages de Newgrange et ceux de Tara, associés dans le passé à des rituels royaux Die Herkunft domestizierter Pferde in Nordwesteuropa: Neue direkte Daten zu den Pferden von Newgrange, Irland, von Robin Bendrey, Nick Thorpe, Alan Outram und Louise H. van Wijngaarden-BakkerDieser Beitrag diskutiert direkte Radiokarbonmessungen, die an Skelettfunden von becherzeitlichen Pferden aus Newgrange in Irland vorgenommen wurden; diese Funde wurden bisher als die ältesten domestizierten Pferde in Irland angesehen. Die neuen Daten datieren die Pferdefunde in die irische Eisenzeit und werfen neues und aufschlussreiches Licht auf die Einführung domestizierter Pferde nach Irland und generell nach Nordwesteuropa. Zwar stellen die neuen Daten die Vorstellung der Einführung von Pferden als Teil des ,,Glockenbecherphänomens“ in Frage, jedoch ist die frühe Nutzung von domestizierten Pferden weder archäologisch noch chronologisch besonders gut geklärt, und ihre früheste Nutzung in Irland und Großbritannien muss noch immer als unsicher gelten. Hinweise auf starke Abnutzung der Zähne der eisenzeitlichen Pferde aus Newgrange wird in diesem Beitrag ebenso diskutiert wie mögliche Parallelen zwischen den Beobachtungen in Newgrange und solchen in Tara, die bisher mit Königsritualen in Verbindung gebracht wurden Los orígenes de los caballos domésticos en el noroeste de Europa: nuevas dataciones directas sobre los caballos de Newgrange, Irlanda, por Robin Bendrey, Nick Thorpe, Alan Outram y Louise H van Wijngaarden-BakkerEste artículo discute las mediciones directas de radiocarbono realizadas sobre restos esqueléticos de caballos, procedentes del asentamiento de época campaniforme del yacimiento de Newgrange en Irlanda; hallazgos que previamente se han considerado los caballos domésticos más antiguos de Irlanda. Las nuevas dataciones adscriben los restos de caballo a la Edad del Hierro y arrojan nuevos datos sobre la introducción de los caballos domésticos en Irlanda y, en general, en el noroeste de Europa. Aunque las nuevas dataciones debilitan la idea de la introducción de los caballos como parte del “paquete campaniforme”, su uso en momentos más antiguos no está bien definido arqueológica o cronológicamente y la primera utilización de los caballos domésticos en Irlanda e Inglaterra es aún incierta. Se presentan evidencias de daño óseo causado por mordeduras en los dientes de caballo de la Edad del Hierro de Newgrange y se discuten algunos posibles paralelismos entre las evidencias de Newgrange y las de Tara, que se han relacionado con “rituales de la realeza”(Online publication May 03 2013)
North American Plains Archaeology by Alan Outram
Recent excavations at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, an Initial Middle Missouri site in... more Recent excavations at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, an Initial Middle Missouri site in Mitchell, South Dakota have revealed a large, clay-lined feature filled with fractured and fragmented bison bones. Fracture and fragmentation analysis, along with taphonomic evidence, suggests that the bones preserved within the feature represent evidence of prehistoric bone marrow and bone grease exploitation. Further, the character of the feature suggests that it served as a bone grease processing station. Bone fat exploitation is an activity that is frequently cited as a causal explanation for the nature of many fractured and fragmented bone assemblages in prehistory, and zooarchaeological assemblages have frequently been studied as evidence of bone fat exploitation. The Mitchell example provides some of the first direct, in-situ archaeological evidence of a bone grease processing feature, and this interpretation is sustained by substantial analytical evidence suggesting bone fat exploitation. This new evidence provides a clearer concept of the nature of bone fat exploitation in prehistory as well as an indication of the scale and degree to which bone grease exploitation occurred at the Mitchell site. Finally, this research demonstrates the importance of careful zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis for the interpretation of both artifactual remains as well as archaeological features.
Identifying Bone Marrow and Grease Extraction by Alan Outram
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2001
Commingled Human and Animal Bones (cannibalism?) by Alan Outram
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2005
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Horse Domestication and Prehistoric Pastoralism by Alan Outram
North American Plains Archaeology by Alan Outram
Identifying Bone Marrow and Grease Extraction by Alan Outram
Commingled Human and Animal Bones (cannibalism?) by Alan Outram
to when it is broken based on degradation over time. Our proposed ‘fracture history profiles’ show the sequences of fracture and fragmentation that have affected assemblages of bone specimens from the death of the animal to recovery by archaeologists. The method provides an assessment of the carcass processing traditions of past people, relating specifically to bone marrow and bone grease extraction.
In addition, by analysing post-deposition fracture and bone modifications caused by burning, gnawing and other taphonomic agents, it is possible to reconstruct a comprehensive taphonomic history for each archaeological context. This has implications for understanding effects on other artefacts that have no equivalent diagnostic features for determining timing of breakage, and also for establishing the nature
of events such as secondary disturbance of deposits. This method will be demonstrated using a case study from the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture.