How horse riding changed the ancient economies of eastern Eurasia

New study lead by William Taylor and Nicole Boivin of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History provides insights into early pastoral economies and herding transitions in eastern Eurasia

Using collagen mass fingerprinting and ancient DNA analysis, scientists provide evidence for livestock-based herding subsistence in Mongolia during the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. The study supports models of widespread changes in herding ecology linked to the innovation of horseback riding in Central Asia in the 2nd millennium BCE and offers a framework to explain broad-scale patterns in the movement of people, ideas, and material culture in Eurasian prehistory.

Access the full study, published 22 January 2020 in Scientific Reports here.