“Through the Nose…” : Horse Domestication and Paleopathology

Bartosiewicz, László (2025) “Through the Nose…” : Horse Domestication and Paleopathology. HUNGARIAN ARCHAEOLOGY, 14 (1). pp. 1-11. ISSN 2416-0296

Preview

Text Bartosiewicz_E25TA.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Putting domestic animals to work is known to cause deformations in their skeletons. These changes, however, tend to result from chronic, often lifelong processes whose early symptoms are hard to distinguish from manifestations of normal variability in wild populations. Moreover, variability increased with domestication making the picture even more complex. In this study, the difficulties of quantifying and interpreting one particular feature, indentations on the equine incisive bone, are analysed in a large set of calvaria (41/365 specimens) of extant equids (both wild and domestic) kept in museum collections. The results show that the indentations in question are a feature also occurring in wild equids. While they may be exacerbated by the use of bridles, they cannot be regarded as proof of domestication in themselves. This example selected for study clearly illustrates the uncertainties in the archaeological interpretation of pathological bone lesions.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item