Man rode horses 5,000 years ago. New evidence from Europe
In a history-altering revelation, archaeologists have found the first direct evidence of horseback riding in 5,000-year-old human skeletons in Central Europe.
Researchers at Hartwick College analyzed more than 200 skeletal remains from the Bronze Age in the collections of museums in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic, looking for signs of 'horse rider syndrome'.
These are six signs that the person was likely riding an animal, including distinct signs of wear on the pelvic cavities and thigh bones.
"You can read bones like biographies," said co-author and University of Helsinki anthropologist Martin Trautmann.
They lived about 4,500 to 5,000 years ago
The researchers focused on more preserved human skeletons than horse bones in burial sites and museums, and identified five possible horsemen who lived about 4,500 to 5,000 years ago and belonged to a Bronze Age people called the Yamnaya.
David Anthony, a co-author of the study and an archaeologist at Hartwick College, said: "When you get on a horse and it's fast, it's exciting. I'm sure ancient humans felt the same way. Riding a horse was as fast as humans could go before the invention of the railway."
The nearest direct guide
University of Exeter archaeologist Alan Outram, who was not involved in the research but praised it, said: "There is previous evidence of horses being used and milked, but this is the closest direct evidence yet of horse riding."
It is noteworthy that the study was published on Friday in the journal Science Advances, according to the agency "Associated Press".
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