Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)
Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2023

Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies

Taylor, William Timothy Treal; Librado, Pablo; Hunska Tašunke Icu, Mila; Shield Chief Gover, Carlton; Arterberry, Jimmy; Luta Wiƞ, Anpetu; Nujipi, Akil; Omniya, Tanka; Gonzalez, Mario; Means, Bill; High Crane, Sam; null, Mažasu; Dull Knife, Barbara; Wiƞ, Wakiƞyala; Tecumseh Collin, Cruz; Ward, Chance; Pasqual, Theresa A.; Chauvey, Lorelei; Tonasso-Calviere, Laure; Schiavinato, Stéphanie;
Show more authors

Abstract

The horse is central to many Indigenous cultures across the American Southwest and the Great Plains. However, when and how horses were first integrated into Indigenous lifeways remain contentious, with extant models derived largely from colonial records. We conducted an interdisciplinary study of an assemblage of historic archaeological horse remains, integrating genomic, isotopic, radiocarbon, and paleopathological evidence. Archaeological and modern North American horses show strong Iberian genetic affinities, with later influx from British sources, but no Viking proximity. Horses rapidly spread from the south into the northern Rockies and central plains by the first half of the 17th century CE, likely through Indigenous exchange networks. They were deeply integrated into Indigenous societies before the arrival of 18th-century European observers, as reflected in herd management, ceremonial practices, and culture.

Published in

Science
2023, Volume: 379, number: 6639, article number: eadc9691

      SLU Authors

    • UKÄ Subject classification

      Archaeology
      Genetics

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adc9691

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/122165