Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Utilization Of Domestic Horses In Historical And Ecological Context

在艾米丽·琼斯博士（PI）的指导下，威廉·t·泰勒（共同PI）将分析古代马的骨骼遗骸，以阐明欧亚大陆东部马的放牧和骑马的起源。驯养马作为食物和交通工具的使用与人类社会的重大社会、政治和经济变化有关，但对其史前起源的了解很少。该项目将通过人口统计学研究来确定古代的放牧行为，形态分析来建立骑马和/或驾驶的证据，以及放射性碳定年法来解决这些问题。这项研究将提高对家养马的使用、生态和人类行为之间联系的理解。此外，该项目还将资助泰勒完成他在新墨西哥大学的论文，并将创建一个开放访问的古马遗骸3D数据库，以保存这些数据，供研究和教育之用。这项工作将通过蒙古语和英语的讲座和同行评审手稿与国际社会分享。泰勒先生的研究将验证这样一种预测，即骑马、放牧社会是在公元前2000年为了应对新的生态机遇而发展起来的，比一些东亚现有模型所显示的要早几个世纪。通过比较具有已知历史的古代马匹和现代标本，共同pi将描述缰绳和骑马对马头骨的影响，并使用3D扫描仪，开发定量技术来识别考古背景下的马匹运输。通过估计蒙古青铜时代晚期石碑中埋藏的马标本的年龄和性别，泰勒将评估公元前1300年至公元前700年之间古代放牧的可能性。在便携式3D扫描仪的帮助下，他将分析这些考古标本的病理变化，并使用这些数据来评估马匹被骑或被用来拉战车的假设。最后，泰勒先生将使用新的和已发表的放射性碳年代，建立一个时间顺序模型，将古代蒙古马的使用变化与欧亚大陆的关键环境和文化发展联系起来。这些互补性研究将有助于为放牧和骑马的起源和传播建立解释性模型，这些模型可应用于全球现代和古代社会。

Under the supervision of Dr. Emily Jones (PI), William T. Taylor (co-PI) will analyze skeletal remains of ancient horses to shed light on the origins of horse herding and riding in eastern Eurasia. The use of the domestic horse for food and transport has been linked with major social, political, and economic changes to human societies, but its origins in prehistory are poorly understood. This project will address these questions through demographic study to identify ancient herding practices, morphological analyses to establish evidence for horseback riding and/or driving, and radiocarbon dating. This research will improve understanding of the links between domestic horse use, ecology, and human behavior. In addition, the project will fund the completion of Mr. Taylor's dissertation at the University of New Mexico, and will lead to the creation of an open-access 3D database of ancient horse remains to preserve these data for research and education. The work will be shared with the international community through talks and peer-reviewed manuscripts in both Mongolian and English. Mr. Taylor's research will test predictions that horse-riding, herding societies developed in response to new ecological opportunities during the 2nd millennium BCE, centuries earlier than some existing models for East Asia suggest. By comparing ancient horses and modern specimens with known histories, the co-PI will characterize the impacts of bridling and riding on the equine skull, and using a 3D scanner, develop quantitative techniques for identifying horse transport in archaeological contexts. By estimating the age and sex of horse specimens buried at late Bronze Age stone monuments in Mongolia, Mr. Taylor will evaluate the possibility of ancient horse herding between 1300 and 700 BCE. With the aid of a portable 3D scanner, he will analyze these archaeological specimens for pathological changes, and use these data to assess the hypothesis that the horses were ridden or used to pull chariots. Finally, using new and published radiocarbon dates, Mr. Taylor will produce a chronological model to link changes in ancient Mongolian horse use with key environmental and cultural developments in Eurasia. These complementary studies will help to develop explanatory models for the origins and spread of horse herding and riding, which can be applied to modern and ancient societies around the globe.