Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Lehi Horse: Implications for Early Historic Horse Cultures of the North American West. Issue 3 (July 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Lehi Horse: Implications for Early Historic Horse Cultures of the North American West. Issue 3 (July 2021)
- Main Title:
- Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Lehi Horse: Implications for Early Historic Horse Cultures of the North American West
- Authors:
- Taylor, William Timothy Treal
Hart, Isaac
Jones, Emily Lena
Brenner-Coltrain, Joan
Thompson Jobe, Jessica
Britt, Brooks B.
McDonald, H. Gregory
Li, Yue
Zhang, Chengrui
Le Roux, Petrus
Shield Chief Gover, Carlton Quinn
Schiavinato, Stéphanie
Orlando, Ludovic
Roberts, Patrick - Abstract:
- Abstract : Although recognized as one of the most significant cultural transformations in North America, the reintroduction of the horse to the continent after AD 1492 has been rarely addressed by archaeological science. A key contributing factor behind this limited study is the apparent absence of equine skeletal remains from early historic archaeological contexts. Here, we present a multidisciplinary analysis of a horse skeleton recovered in Lehi, Utah, originally attributed to the Pleistocene. Reanalysis of stratigraphic context and radiocarbon dating indicates a historic age for this horse (cal AD 1681–1939), linking it with Ute or other Indigenous groups, whereas osteological features demonstrate its use for mounted horseback riding—perhaps with a nonframe saddle. DNA analysis indicates that the animal was a female domestic horse, which was likely cared for as part of a breeding herd despite outliving its usefulness in transport. Finally, sequentially sampled stable carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope values from tooth enamel (δ 13 C, δ 18 O, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) suggest that the horse was raised locally. These results show the utility of archaeological science as applied to horse remains in understanding Indigenous horse pastoralism, whereas consideration of the broader archaeological record suggests a pattern of misidentification of horse bones from early historic contexts.
- Is Part Of:
- American antiquity. Volume 86:Issue 3(2021)
- Journal:
- American antiquity
- Issue:
- Volume 86:Issue 3(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 86, Issue 3 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 86
- Issue:
- 3
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0086-0003-0000
- Page Start:
- 465
- Page End:
- 485
- Publication Date:
- 2021-07
- Subjects:
- horseback riding -- equestrianism -- zooarchaeology -- Utah -- Lehi horse -- horse pastoralism -- Ute archaeology
montar a caballo -- equitación -- zooarqueología -- caballo de Lehi -- pastoralismo de caballos -- arqueología de los Ute
North America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
Archaeology -- North America -- Periodicals
Archaeology -- America -- Periodicals
Anthropology -- America -- Periodicals
North America -- History -- Periodicals
America -- History -- Periodicals
Periodicals
970 - Journal URLs:
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/all-issues ↗
http://www.jstor.org/journals/00027316.html ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1017/aaq.2020.109 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0002-7316
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store
- Ingest File:
- 18337.xml