The Domestication and Early History of the Horse | Evolution, Archaeology, and the Americas

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In this episode of Ethnocynology, host David Ian Howe sits down with archaeologist and anthropologist Dr. William Taylor (University of Colorado Boulder), author of Hoofbeats: How Horses Shaped Human History.

While this show usually focuses on dogs, today we shift to the other animal that transformed humanity: the horse. Dr. Taylor walks us through the evolutionary history of horses, their domestication on the Eurasian steppe, and their reintroduction to the Americas after the Ice Age. Together we explore how humans first interacted with horses—as prey, symbols in cave art, sources of milk and meat, and eventually as partners in transport, warfare, and belief systems.

Hoofbeats: How Horses Shaped Human History by Dr. William Taylor — available on Amazon and other retailers.

Topics include:

The origins of domestic horses around 2000 BC in the Caucasus steppes

Horses evolving in North America, going extinct, and being reintroduced by the Spanish

Hunting evidence from sites like Schöningen in Germany and Bluefish Caves in the Yukon

Horses in Paleolithic cave art (Lascaux, Chauvet) and the Vogelherd ivory carving

Evidence for early horse riding and chariot use in Egypt, Assyria, and beyond

The role of horses in indigenous North and South American societies before widespread European contact

Ethno-equine parallels in Mongolia, Australia, and Patagonia, where horses shaped cultural, spiritual, and economic life

This is Part 1 of a two-part series: next time, David speaks with Cassidy Thornhill of the University of Wyoming, who researches the protohistoric introduction of horses into the Americas.

If you enjoy the episode, please rate and review Ethnocynology on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It helps more people discover the show and supports the entire Archaeology Podcast Network.

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Chapters:
0:00 Intro and Dr. Wiliam Taylor
2:43 Horse domestication areas
4:40 Early evolutionary history / The Americas
6:34 Earliest human-horse interactions / Hunting / Art
10:47 Were horses milked?
13:36 The Vogelherd Horse
17:05 Curiosity Box
18:59 Horse reintroduction into the Americas
24:30 Indigenous horse interactions
28:17 Do horses do so well because they are from here?
30:49 How do we find horses archaeologically?
34:30 Horse back riding origins / Egypt / Chariots
41:29 Ethoequineology: Mongolia
43:53 Ethoequineology: Australia
45:14 Ethoequineology: Patagonia
48:03 Closing Thoughts

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Ethnocynology is brought to you by the Archaeology Podcast Network and Howe and Why productions, LLC

Director: David Ian Howe
Producers: Chris Webster, Tristan Boyle, Rachel Roden, Ashleigh Airey
Podcast editors: Rachel Roden, Chris Webster
Video editor: David Ian Howe
Music: KNOWMADIC
Intro Animations: Ilene German
www.archpodnet.com

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