Study: Horses Were in American West by Early 1600s
2023-04-08
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1A new study suggests that horses were present in the American West by the early 1600s.
2That is earlier than most written histories have estimated.
3The new finding came from examinations of horse bones gathered from museums across the central Great Plains and northern Rocky Mountain areas of the U.S.
4The study's estimate supports spoken histories of several Native American groups.
5The groups say their communities kept horses of Spanish origin before Europeans physically arrived in their homelands.
6A study describing the findings recently appeared in the publication Science.
7More than 80 co-writers took part in the study, including archaeologists, geneticists and historians.
8The team also included scientists from the Lakota, Comanche and Pawnee Native American nations.
9Past research suggests that the ancestors of modern horses first appeared in North America millions of years ago.
10That is before horses arrived on the central plains of Europe and Asia, where they were domesticated.
11But those early horse ancestors disappeared from North America about 6,000 years ago.
12In the new study, scientists examined more than 20 sets of horse remains from sites in several U.S. states.
13They aimed to establish that horses were ridden and raised by Indigenous groups by the early 1600s.
14William Taylor is an archaeologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder and was one of the writers of the study.
15He told The Associated Press (AP), "Almost every aspect of the human-horse relationship is manifest in the skeleton in some way."
16The study suggests the horses were present in the American West and Southwest many years before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
17That revolt involved allied Indigenous groups pushing Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico.
18The fleeing armies left behind many horses and other animals.
19The study says historical records incorrectly identified that moment as the entrance of the horse into the cultures of Indigenous groups in North America.
20"Now we can wave goodbye to the Pueblo Revolt as an explanation for the spread of the horse into the American West," said Peter Mitchell.
21He is an archaeologist at Britain's Oxford University.
22He was not involved in the study.
23Indigenous groups have long disputed this timeline.
24This is because spoken histories of many groups suggested they had seen horses before meeting Europeans.
25Jimmy Arterberry is a co-writer of the study and a historian with the Comanche Native American nation in Medicine Park, Oklahoma.
26He told the AP that multiple spoken histories state that Indigenous groups first saw horses that had either run away from Spanish camps or been traded through tribal networks.
27"We have always known and said that we came across horses before we came across the Spanish," Arterberry said.
28Yvette Running Horse Collin is one of the writers of the study.
29She is an evolutionary geneticist at the Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse in France.
30She is also a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation.
31Collin said the findings show that the spoken histories and traditions of Indigenous peoples can be useful in understanding the past.
32"Our cultures have been so misrepresented for so long," she said.
33"Too often history has been told around us, without us."
34More than 70 years ago, archaeologists took artifacts from burials and ceremonial sites without asking Native peoples in the area.
35The study was started by Lakota researchers.
36Some consider it one step in repairing mistrust between Indigenous groups and archaeologists.
37The study also suggests that, over time, the genetics of horses in North America went from being mainly of Spanish origin to a mixture of British and Spanish.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A new study suggests that horses were present in the American West by the early 1600s. That is earlier than most written histories have estimated. 2The new finding came from examinations of horse bones gathered from museums across the central Great Plains and northern Rocky Mountain areas of the U.S. 3The study's estimate supports spoken histories of several Native American groups. The groups say their communities kept horses of Spanish origin before Europeans physically arrived in their homelands. 4A study describing the findings recently appeared in the publication Science. More than 80 co-writers took part in the study, including archaeologists, geneticists and historians. The team also included scientists from the Lakota, Comanche and Pawnee Native American nations. 5Past research suggests that the ancestors of modern horses first appeared in North America millions of years ago. That is before horses arrived on the central plains of Europe and Asia, where they were domesticated. But those early horse ancestors disappeared from North America about 6,000 years ago. 6In the new study, scientists examined more than 20 sets of horse remains from sites in several U.S. states. They aimed to establish that horses were ridden and raised by Indigenous groups by the early 1600s. 7William Taylor is an archaeologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder and was one of the writers of the study. He told The Associated Press (AP), "Almost every aspect of the human-horse relationship is manifest in the skeleton in some way." 8The study suggests the horses were present in the American West and Southwest many years before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. That revolt involved allied Indigenous groups pushing Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico. 9The fleeing armies left behind many horses and other animals. The study says historical records incorrectly identified that moment as the entrance of the horse into the cultures of Indigenous groups in North America. 10"Now we can wave goodbye to the Pueblo Revolt as an explanation for the spread of the horse into the American West," said Peter Mitchell. He is an archaeologist at Britain's Oxford University. He was not involved in the study. 11Indigenous groups have long disputed this timeline. This is because spoken histories of many groups suggested they had seen horses before meeting Europeans. 12Jimmy Arterberry is a co-writer of the study and a historian with the Comanche Native American nation in Medicine Park, Oklahoma. He told the AP that multiple spoken histories state that Indigenous groups first saw horses that had either run away from Spanish camps or been traded through tribal networks. 13"We have always known and said that we came across horses before we came across the Spanish," Arterberry said. 14Yvette Running Horse Collin is one of the writers of the study. She is an evolutionary geneticist at the Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse in France. She is also a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Collin said the findings show that the spoken histories and traditions of Indigenous peoples can be useful in understanding the past. 15"Our cultures have been so misrepresented for so long," she said. "Too often history has been told around us, without us." 16More than 70 years ago, archaeologists took artifacts from burials and ceremonial sites without asking Native peoples in the area. The study was started by Lakota researchers. Some consider it one step in repairing mistrust between Indigenous groups and archaeologists. 17The study also suggests that, over time, the genetics of horses in North America went from being mainly of Spanish origin to a mixture of British and Spanish. 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 20_________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22origin - n. where something begins or comes from 23domesticate - v. to tame an animal to keep as a pet 24aspect - n. one part of a situation, problem, subject etc. 25manifest - v. to show a quality or condition 26evolution - n. the theory that changes in plants and animals happen because of natural processes over long periods of time 27____________________________________________________________________ 28What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.