HERDS - Horse Domestication and Early Husbandry in Central Asian Steppes: Bone Remains to Document Uses and Breeding Practices in Pastoral Societies

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Of all the animals to have been domesticated, few influenced human societies as much as the horse (Equus caballus). Horse domestication revolutionized mobility and transformed the organization of past human populations. Although it is considered as a milestone in human history, the early phases of horse domestication and uses are however challenging to reconstruct. HERDS ("Horse Domestication and Early Husbandry in Central Asian Steppes: Bone Remains to Document Uses and Breeding Practices in Pastoral Societies") will investigate early horse husbandry in Kazakhstan. It will focus on the Eneolithic Botai Culture, where horse husbandry has first been attested, and on ensuing Bronze Age pastoral societies which sees the progressive development of equestrianism. The aim will be to better understand the role of horses in these cultures and evaluate the extent to which they have been physically impacted by human management. In that respect, archaeological bones represent the best surviving direct testimony of the morphofunctional characteristics of past animals. The analyses will be carried out on horse remains coming from a wide range ofarchaeological sites from the Mesolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Cutting-edge approaches will be used to characterize bone outer and inner structure. Estimates of muscle performance and bone biomechanical properties will also be computed to infer the functional traits of these early domestic horses. The knowledge of the fellow in horse functional anatomy perfectly complements the strong expertise of the supervisor in equine archaeology from Central Asia. HERDS will allow to gain insight into how horses were exploited and selected in early pastoral societies, and how early husbandry strategies and equestrian technologies have impacted their biological features. Conversely, it will provide meaningful data concerning how its domestication contributed to shape pastoral societies in transforming their mobility, trade and warfare practices.