First Bio-Anthropological Evidence for Yamnaya Horsemanship.

Martin Trautmann; Alin Frinculeasa; Bianca Preda-Balanica; Marta Petruneac; Marin  Focşaneanu; Stefan Alexandrov; Nadezhda Atanassova; Piotr Włodarczak; Michał  Podsiadło; János Dani; Zsolt  Bereczki; Tamás  Hajdu; Radu Băjenaru; Adrian  Ioniţă; Andrei  Măgureanu; Despina Măgureanu; Anca-Diana  Popescu; Dorin Sârbu; Gabriel Vasile; David Anthony; Volker Heyd

doi:10.1126/sciadv.ade2451

First Bio-Anthropological Evidence for Yamnaya Horsemanship.

Martin Trautmann, Alin Frinculeasa, Bianca Preda-Balanica, Marta Petruneac, Marin Focşaneanu, Stefan Alexandrov, Nadezhda Atanassova, Piotr Włodarczak, Michał Podsiadło, János Dani , Zsolt Bereczki, Tamás Hajdu, Radu Băjenaru, Adrian Ioniţă, Andrei Măgureanu, Despina Măgureanu, Anca-Diana Popescu, Dorin Sârbu, Gabriel Vasile, David AnthonyVolker Heyd

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

The origins of horseback riding remain elusive. Scientific studies show that horses were kept for their milk similar to 3500 to 3000 BCE, widely accepted as indicating domestication. However, this does not confirm them to be ridden. Equipment used by early riders is rarely preserved, and the reliability of equine dental and mandibular pathol-ogies remains contested. However, horsemanship has two interacting components: the horse as mount and the human as rider. Alterations associated with riding in human skeletons therefore possibly provide the best source of information. Here, we report five Yamnaya individuals well-dated to 3021 to 2501 calibrated BCE from kurgans in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, displaying changes in bone morphology and distinct pathologies associated with horseback riding. These are the oldest humans identified as riders so far.

Original language	English
Article number	eade2451
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	9
Issue number	9
Number of pages	13
ISSN	2375-2548
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2451
Publication status	Published - 3 Mar 2023
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Fields of Science

615 History and Archaeology
Entheseal changes
Horse
Patterns
Populations
Shape
Attachment
Mobility
Skeleton
Remains
Burial

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Cite this

Trautmann, M., Frinculeasa, A., Preda-Balanica, B., Petruneac, M., Focşaneanu, M., Alexandrov, S., Atanassova, N., Włodarczak, P., Podsiadło, M., Dani , J., Bereczki, Z., Hajdu, T., Băjenaru, R., Ioniţă, A., Măgureanu, A., Măgureanu, D., Popescu, A-D., Sârbu, D., Vasile, G., ... Heyd, V. (2023). First Bio-Anthropological Evidence for Yamnaya Horsemanship. Science Advances, 9(9), [eade2451 ]. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2451

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abstract = "The origins of horseback riding remain elusive. Scientific studies show that horses were kept for their milk similar to 3500 to 3000 BCE, widely accepted as indicating domestication. However, this does not confirm them to be ridden. Equipment used by early riders is rarely preserved, and the reliability of equine dental and mandibular pathol-ogies remains contested. However, horsemanship has two interacting components: the horse as mount and the human as rider. Alterations associated with riding in human skeletons therefore possibly provide the best source of information. Here, we report five Yamnaya individuals well-dated to 3021 to 2501 calibrated BCE from kurgans in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, displaying changes in bone morphology and distinct pathologies associated with horseback riding. These are the oldest humans identified as riders so far.",

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Trautmann, M, Frinculeasa, A, Preda-Balanica, B, Petruneac, M, Focşaneanu, M, Alexandrov, S, Atanassova, N, Włodarczak, P, Podsiadło, M, Dani , J, Bereczki, Z, Hajdu, T, Băjenaru, R, Ioniţă, A, Măgureanu, A, Măgureanu, D, Popescu, A-D, Sârbu, D, Vasile, G, Anthony, D & Heyd, V 2023, 'First Bio-Anthropological Evidence for Yamnaya Horsemanship.', Science Advances, vol. 9, no. 9, eade2451 . https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2451

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AU - Trautmann, Martin

AU - Frinculeasa, Alin

AU - Preda-Balanica, Bianca

AU - Petruneac, Marta

AU - Focşaneanu, Marin

AU - Alexandrov, Stefan

AU - Atanassova, Nadezhda

AU - Włodarczak, Piotr

AU - Podsiadło, Michał

AU - Dani , János

AU - Bereczki, Zsolt

AU - Hajdu, Tamás

AU - Băjenaru, Radu

AU - Ioniţă, Adrian

AU - Măgureanu, Andrei

AU - Măgureanu, Despina

AU - Popescu, Anca-Diana

AU - Sârbu, Dorin

AU - Vasile, Gabriel

AU - Anthony, David

AU - Heyd, Volker

PY - 2023/3/3

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AB - The origins of horseback riding remain elusive. Scientific studies show that horses were kept for their milk similar to 3500 to 3000 BCE, widely accepted as indicating domestication. However, this does not confirm them to be ridden. Equipment used by early riders is rarely preserved, and the reliability of equine dental and mandibular pathol-ogies remains contested. However, horsemanship has two interacting components: the horse as mount and the human as rider. Alterations associated with riding in human skeletons therefore possibly provide the best source of information. Here, we report five Yamnaya individuals well-dated to 3021 to 2501 calibrated BCE from kurgans in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, displaying changes in bone morphology and distinct pathologies associated with horseback riding. These are the oldest humans identified as riders so far.

KW - 615 History and Archaeology

KW - Entheseal changes

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KW - Patterns

KW - Populations

KW - Shape

KW - Attachment

KW - Mobility

KW - Skeleton

KW - Remains

KW - Burial

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