In this episode of Ethnocynology, host David Ian Howe sits down with archaeologist and anthropologist Dr. William Taylor (University of Colorado Boulder), author of Hoofbeats: How Horses Shaped Human History.
While this show usually focuses on dogs, today we shift to the other animal that transformed humanity: the horse. Dr. Taylor walks us through the evolutionary history of horses, their domestication on the Eurasian steppe, and their reintroduction to the Americas after the Ice Age. Together we explore how humans first interacted with horses—as prey, symbols in cave art, sources of milk and meat, and eventually as partners in transport, warfare, and belief systems.
Topics include:
The origins of domestic horses around 2000 BC in the Caucasus steppes
Horses evolving in North America, going extinct, and being reintroduced by the Spanish
Hunting evidence from sites like Schöningen in Germany and Bluefish Caves in the Yukon
Horses in Paleolithic cave art (Lascaux, Chauvet) and the Vogelherd ivory carving
Evidence for early horse riding and chariot use in Egypt, Assyria, and beyond
The role of horses in indigenous North and South American societies before widespread European contact
Ethno-equine parallels in Mongolia, Australia, and Patagonia, where horses shaped cultural, spiritual, and economic life
This is Part 1 of a two-part series: next time, David speaks with Cassidy Thornhill of the University of Wyoming, who researches the protohistoric introduction of horses into the Americas.
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Links:
Hoofbeats: How Horses Shaped Human History by Dr. William Taylor — available on Amazon and other retailers.
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