First Evidence of Horseback Riding Dates back 5,000 Years
2023-03-12
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1Researchers have found the earliest direct evidence for horseback riding.
2The evidence comes from 5,000-year-old human skeletons in central Europe.
3The research study was published last week in the publication Science Advances.
4Horseback riding was a development that changed history.
5It was "the fastest a human could go before the railroads," said David Anthony.
6He is a co-writer of the study and an archaeologist at New York's Hartwick College.
7The researchers examined the bones of more than 200 ancient people in museum collections in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
8The bones came from the period known as the Bronze Age between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago.
9The researchers looked for signs of "horse rider syndrome."
10Martin Trautmann, another writer of the study, explained the condition.
11He said there are six markers that show whether a person rode an animal.
12They include wear marks on the hips, thigh bone and pelvis, said Trautmann, an anthropologist at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
13The researchers identified five humans who likely rode horses.
14They are estimated to have lived between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago.
15They belonged to a Bronze Age people called the Yamnaya.
16Alan Outram is an archaeologist at Britain's University of Exeter.
17He was not involved in the research, but he praised the methods the scientists used.
18He said, "There is earlier evidence for harnessing and milking of horses, but this is the earliest direct evidence so far for horseback riding."
19Domesticating wild horses on the plains of Eurasia was a process, not a single event, the researchers said.
20Archaeologists have previously found evidence of people drinking horse milk.
21There have also been signs of horses controlled by harnesses dating back more than 5,000 years.
22But that does not mean humans rode the horses.
23The Yamnaya culture developed in what is now part of Ukraine and western Russia.
24The Yamnaya are important because of their expansion across Eurasia in only a few generations.
25They moved west to Hungary and east to Mongolia, said University of Helsinki archaeologist and study co-writer Volker Heyd.
26"The spread of Indo-European languages is linked to their movement, and they reshaped the genetic make-up of Europe," Heyd said.
27Their relationship with horses may have partly made this movement possible, the researchers suggested.
28David Anthony, the Hartwick College archaeologist, said, "Horses expand the concept of distance - you begin to think about places previously out of reach as being reachable."
29That does not mean the Yamnaya people were warriors on horseback.
30The horses they rode were likely not used in battlefield situations, Anthony said.
31But horses may have helped the Yamnaya more effectively send communications, build alliances and control the herds of cattle that were important to their economy.
32I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Researchers have found the earliest direct evidence for horseback riding. The evidence comes from 5,000-year-old human skeletons in central Europe. 2The research study was published last week in the publication Science Advances. 3Horseback riding was a development that changed history. It was "the fastest a human could go before the railroads," said David Anthony. He is a co-writer of the study and an archaeologist at New York's Hartwick College. 4The researchers examined the bones of more than 200 ancient people in museum collections in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The bones came from the period known as the Bronze Age between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago. The researchers looked for signs of "horse rider syndrome." 5Martin Trautmann, another writer of the study, explained the condition. He said there are six markers that show whether a person rode an animal. They include wear marks on the hips, thigh bone and pelvis, said Trautmann, an anthropologist at the University of Helsinki in Finland. 6The researchers identified five humans who likely rode horses. They are estimated to have lived between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago. They belonged to a Bronze Age people called the Yamnaya. 7Alan Outram is an archaeologist at Britain's University of Exeter. He was not involved in the research, but he praised the methods the scientists used. He said, "There is earlier evidence for harnessing and milking of horses, but this is the earliest direct evidence so far for horseback riding." 8Domesticating wild horses on the plains of Eurasia was a process, not a single event, the researchers said. Archaeologists have previously found evidence of people drinking horse milk. There have also been signs of horses controlled by harnesses dating back more than 5,000 years. But that does not mean humans rode the horses. 9The Yamnaya culture developed in what is now part of Ukraine and western Russia. The Yamnaya are important because of their expansion across Eurasia in only a few generations. They moved west to Hungary and east to Mongolia, said University of Helsinki archaeologist and study co-writer Volker Heyd. "The spread of Indo-European languages is linked to their movement, and they reshaped the genetic make-up of Europe," Heyd said. 10Their relationship with horses may have partly made this movement possible, the researchers suggested. 11David Anthony, the Hartwick College archaeologist, said, "Horses expand the concept of distance - you begin to think about places previously out of reach as being reachable." 12That does not mean the Yamnaya people were warriors on horseback. The horses they rode were likely not used in battlefield situations, Anthony said. But horses may have helped the Yamnaya more effectively send communications, build alliances and control the herds of cattle that were important to their economy. 13I'm Ashley Thompson. 14The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15___________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17archaeologist -n. a scientist who studies past human life through objects and bones 18museum -n. a building where things of cultural or scientific value are shown and knowledge about them is spread 19syndrome -n. a usually medical condition that has certain identifiable signs 20pelvis -n. the large that links the upper half of the body and the lower half 21anthropologist -n. a scientist who studies human development from the earliest times to the present 22harness -v. to attach a device to certain animals to control them for work 23domesticate -v. to train an animal to accept the control of human beings 24concept -n. an idea 25___________________________________________________________________ 26We want to hear from you. Here is how our comment system works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.