Botai and the Origins of Horse Domestication
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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 18, 29 –78 (1999)
Article ID jaar.1998.0332, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
Botai and the Origins of Horse Domestication
Marsha A. Levine
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Downing Street,
Cambridge, CB2 3ER, United Kingdom
Received April 22, 1997; revision received April 27, 1998; accepted July 28, 1998
This paper explores some issues related to the origins of horse domestication. First, it focuses
on methodological problems relevant to existing work. Then, ethnoarchaeological and archaeo-
zoological methods are used to provide an alternative approach to the subject. Ethnological,
ethological, and archaeological data are used to construct a series of population structure
models illustrating a range of human– horse relationships. Analysis of assemblages from the
Eneolithic sites of Botai (northern Kazakhstan) and Dereivka (Ukraine) suggests that horses at
these sites were obtained largely by hunting. © 1999 Academic Press
Key Words: archaeology; Eurasian steppe; horse; domestication.
1.0. INTRODUCTION ently intensified. For a long time archae-
ologists assumed that intensification meant
The impact on human society of the domestication. However, there are other
earliest domestication of the horse must explanations for this kind of change which
have been as profound as that of the in- must also be explored. It is important to
vention of the steam engine and yet we be aware that human– horse relation-
know very little about when, where, or ships varied widely over time and space
how it came about. The increased mobility and that multiple relationships could be
provided by the horse would have en- relevant at a single site. Furthermore, be-
abled people to move further and faster havioral patterns for which we have no
and to take more with them than ever modern or ethnographic analogues are
before. They could exploit larger and likely to have been important in the past.
more diverse landscapes, maintain larger Whatever else is involved, it is clear that
families, increase the range of their trade there was an important change in steppe
contacts. They could move into previously ecodynamics at this time (from around
uninhabitable regions. And, since a man 5000 to 3000 B.C.). Horses were becoming
on foot is no match for a man on horse- much more common in archaeological de-
back, the military implications of horse posits. Important cultural, social, and eco-
domestication would have been revolu- nomic changes were taking place. It was
tionary. John Ewers has shown how pro- also a period of significant climatic change
foundly the introduction of the horse into (Schnirelman 1992). Until we can under-
North America changed Blackfoot culture stand the development of the human–horse
(Ewers 1955). We should expect no less of relationship we cannot know how all these
its early domestication in central Eurasia. factors were related (Levine 1993). If we are
However, until recently relatively little at- to make sense of events during this period,
tention had been paid to this problem (see we must understand the structure of the
also Levine 1990, 1993). archaeozoological data.
Around 7000 years ago the relation- The study of human– horse relation-
ship between people and horses appar- ships has been bedeviled by both concep-
29
0278-4165/99 $30.00
Copyright © 1999 by Academic Press
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.30 MARSHA A. LEVINE
tual and methodological weaknesses. This posits should not be taken as proof that
paper explores some of the relevant issues they were extinct. Grigson would have
from two perspectives. First, it focuses on been on firmer ground had she entitled
some of the problems relevant to existing her paper: The Earliest Horses in the Le-
work, in particular, the confusion of do- vant? New Finds from the Fourth Millen-
mestication with intensification and the nium of the Negev.
use of a single criterion to classify complex
human–animal relationships. Then, eth- 1.1.2. The Search for the Earliest Date
noarchaeological and archaeozoological
methods are used to provide an alterna- This kind of problem arises partly out of
tive approach. A range of behaviors, the tendency of archaeologists and ar-
based on archaeological, ethological, and chaeozoologists to ask certain kinds of
ethnographic data, are drawn on to de- questions, for example, when and where
velop a series of models describing a was the horse (or, for that matter, cow,
range of possible strategies and tactics sheep, goat, pig, etc.) first domesticated?
against which the archaeological data can Which came first: the invention of the
be tested. wheel or the bit (Anthony and Brown
1991)? The whole issue of earliest dates is
1.1. The Concept of the Earliest Date a red herring, especially in a situation
1.1.1. Biogeographic Range such as this, in which the number of well-
excavated and absolutely dated sites is
C. Grigson’s paper, “The Earliest Do- very small and the criteria used to prove
mestic Horses in the Levant? New finds domestication are not very convincing.
from the Fourth Millennium of the Ne- Factors completely unrelated to ancient
gev” (1993), illustrates what is probably human behavior that will significantly in-
the most fundamental problem associated fluence identification of the “earliest” site
with the study of early horse domestica- include the following:
tion—the search for the earliest date. She
natural taphonomic factors: the destruc-
might well be correct, on the basis of its
tion or preservation of sites, bones, and
large size relative to the ass (Equus asinus)
artifacts made from organic materials;
and the onager (Equus hemionus), that
decisions, which may be political, finan-
Equus caballus was present in the Levant
cial, or strategic, about where and how
earlier than had been believed. However,
carefully to excavate;
her conviction that this horse must have
decisions about whether bones should
been domesticated is apparently based
be studied or discarded;
solely on the assumption that the geo-
decisions about who will study the
graphical range of the wild horse could
bones, whether their primary training is
not have extended into the Levant: “Al-
as an archaeologist, zoologist, veterinar-
though the horse (Equus caballus) was a
ian, etc.;
member of the Pleistocene fauna of the
the specialist’s country of origin, since
Levant, it died out before the end of the
educational traditions influence the ana-
period” (Grigson 1993, p. 646). In fact, re-
lytical methods used;
cent research suggests that the natural
criteria chosen by the specialist as evi-
distribution of the Holocene horse might
dence of domestication.
have been much wider than had been for-
merly believed (Azzaroli 1985; Clason Scholars looking for earliest dates com-
1988; Clutton-Brock 1992; Groves 1986; monly use only one line of evidence (e.g.,
Uerpmann 1990). In any case, the absence biogeography, size, morphology, bitwear)
of horse remains from archaeological de- from which to draw their conclusions.ORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 31
This approach, simplifying human and dalenian horses were smaller than those
animal behavior, as it does, is ultimately from the intervening Upper Perigordian
unsatisfying. level. No one could seriously suggest that
this is evidence that the former were do-
1.1.3. Size and Homogeneity mesticated while the latter were wild (Le-
vine 1979, 1983).
Setting the search for the “earliest date” A decrease in size accompanied by an
as a primary research goal makes it rather increase in heterogeneity might be asso-
easy to use inadequate criteria for the de- ciated with domestication, but it could
termination of domestication. This is be- have other causes. It is, on its own, insuf-
cause the search for a date does not re- ficient as an explanation. Other corrobo-
quire anything to be said about the actual rative evidence must be obtained. Even if
relationship between animals and people. too few teeth were available for a full-
For instance, a decrease in size and an blown population analysis, a study that
increase in heterogeneity are taken as compared aging data from a series of rel-
proof of domestication by many scholars. atively small samples would surely be just
Uerpmann claims that “Grössenreduktion as meaningful as one comparing morpho-
einerseits und Zunahme der Variabilität metric data from a series of small samples.
andererseits sind klassische Domestika- The latter, but not the former, are used by
tionsindikatoren” (Uerpmann 1990, p. Uerpmann and others (e.g., Uerpmann
127). 1,* Such factors as age and sex struc- 1990; Benecke 1993).
ture are rarely taken into account. How-
ever, a size change could also result from 1.1.4. Bitwear
a change in the technique of exploitation.
For example, a hunting method that Another example of this commitment to
culled primarily stallions from family an earliest date is Anthony’s argument
groups would take larger horses than one that the domesticated horse was present
that focused on bachelor groups, which in the Ukraine earlier than in Kazakhstan.
might well be epiphyseally mature but not His evidence for this comes from bitwear
yet full grown, or one that focused on studies of two samples of lower second
females, which are smaller than equal-age premolars from two Eneolithic sites, Botai
males. Environmental change, geographi- in northern Kazakhstan (5 from a total of
cal isolation, and genetic drift are all con- 19 teeth) and Dereivka in the Ukraine (2
nected with size change. Moreover, ta- from a total of 6 teeth). He implies from
phonomic factors can also influence size this that horse domestication spread from
range and variability. For example, as an west to east (Anthony 1995).
animal ages, even after its epiphyses are Relatively little archaeozoological re-
fully fused, the bones continue to increase search has been carried out in the
in density. All other things being equal, former Soviet Union, including both Ka-
the denser the bone, the better its chances zakhstan and the Ukraine, and relatively
of surviving in an archaeological context. few absolute dates are available (regard-
Poor preservation conditions therefore ing the Ukraine, see Levine and Rassa-
tend to result in an assemblage of rela- makin 1996). Botai and Dereivka do not
tively homogeneous and large bones. At constitute representative samples of
the French Upper Palaeolithic site of So- sites within the vast regions in question.
lutré, both the Aurignacian and the Mag- They cannot, therefore, be used to an-
swer questions about origins and earli-
* See Notes section at end of paper for all foot- est dates. Moreover, serious doubts have
notes. been raised about the stratigraphic loca-32 MARSHA A. LEVINE
tion of the “ritual” skull from Dereivka, TABLE 1
the basis of Anthony and Brown’s theory Dereivka Radiocarbon Dates
of the origins of early horse domestica- KI 5488: 4330 6 120 years B.P. (“ritual” skull)
tion (Rassamakin 1994). These doubts Mean calibrated date: 2915 B.C.
seem to be confirmed by the mean cali- 1 s; range 3092–2784 B.C.
brated radiocarbon date recently ob- 3293 (0.03) 3277 3268 (0.05) 3240 3105 (0.75) 2865
tained for that skull, 2915 B.C., more 2809 (0.12) 2750 2724 (0.05) 2699
than 1000 years later than most of the 2 s; range 3347–2610 B.C.
other dates for that site (Table 1) (Tele- 3339 (0.78) 2838 2828 (0.02) 2650 2650 (0.02) 2619
gin 1986). UCLA 1671A: 4900 6 100 years B.P. (bone)
Mean calibrated dates: 3692, 3670 B.C.
1.2. METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS 1 s; range 3783–3548 B.C.
3892 (0.01) 3889 3796 (0.86) 2633 3577 (0.14) 3535
1.2.1. Conventional Approaches 2 s; range 3946–3383 B.C.
3946 (0.13) 3832 3829 (0.84) 3503 3417 (0.03) 3383
The theoretical framework used until
recently for interpreting the archaeozoo- KI 2197: 5230 6 95 years B.P. (shell)
logical data was seriously flawed (for a Mean calibrated dates: 4033, 4025, 3998, B.C.
1 s; range 4221–3959 B.C.
more detailed discussion see Levine 1990, 4221 (0.11) 4193 4154 (0.89) 3959
1993). For example, the criteria used by
2 s; range 4320–3799 B.C.
various researchers as evidence that the 4317 (0.02) 4292 4256 (0.89) 3902 3882 (0.09) 3802
horses from Dereivka were domesticated
included the following: (1) the absence of OXA 5030: 5380 6 90 years B.P. (bone from
old horses; (2) the presence of a large pro- cemetery)
Mean calibrated date: 4237 B.C.
portion of male skulls; (3) the presence of
1 s; range 4337–4048 B.C.
objects identified as bridle cheekpieces; 4334 (0.58) 4216 4201 (0.28) 4141 4120 (0.14) 4087
(4) the results of a morphological analysis
2 s; range 4435–3985 B.C.
comparing the Dereivka horses with other 4362 (1.00) 3988
equid material; (5) their association with
other domesticates— cattle, sheep, goat, KI 2193: 5400 6 100 years B.P. (shell)
pig, and dog; (6) the relatively large per- mean calibrated dates: 4310, 309, 4249 B.C.
1 s; range 4346–4086 B.C.
centage of horse bones and teeth in the 4345 (0.63) 4216 4201 (0.25) 4141 4120 (0.12) 4087
deposit (Bökönyi 1978, 1984; Bibikova
2 s; range 4456–3985 B.C.
1967, 1970, 1969; Telegin 1986). However,
4451 (0.03) 4420 4396 (0.02) 4374 4369 (0.92)
on the basis of archaeological, ethno- 4030 4030 (0.04) 3994
graphic, and ethological comparisons, the
absence of old individuals is much more UCLA 1466a: 5515 6 90 BP (bone)
Mean calibrated date: 4350 BC
likely to indicate hunting than herding
1 sigma; Range 4457–4260 BC
(Levine 1982, 1990). Males would outnum- 4458 (.83) 4317 4291 (0.17) 4256
ber females if either bachelor groups or
2 sigma; Range 4527–4155 BC
stallions protecting their harems were tar- 4540 (.94) 4218 4198 (0.4) 4145 4115 (.01) 4093
geted in the hunt. The cheekpieces might
not have been cheekpieces at all (Dietz Source. Dates from Telegin, personal communica-
1992; Levine and Rassamakin 1996). The tion, and conference abstract from Telegin (1995).
Calibration from Stuiver and Reimer (1993).
morphological study involved very small
and disparate samples and produced con-
tradictory results. The association of any case, they were also found with the
horses with other assumed domesticates remains of wild animals (Levine 1990,
is not evidence of horse domestication. In 1993). The only species from Dereivka toORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 33
be studied in detail was the horse. Be- 1.2.2. The Identification and Significance of
cause almost all the bones and teeth from Bitwear
this site have unfortunately been dis-
carded, it is impossible for them to be As an analytical method, bitwear anal-
reassessed. However, a preliminary exam- ysis should make a valuable contribution
ination of the faunal assemblage from the to the study of horse domestication (An-
new excavations at Molukhov Bugor, an- thony and Brown 1991). However, it has
important limitations:
other Dereivka culture site, 2 has produced
some interesting, but extremely tentative 1. Tamed, as well as domesticated,
results. No bones that could only have horses could wear bits.
come from domesticated animals and 2. A horse can be ridden without a bit.
many that must have come from wild 3. Anthony and Brown have themselves
ones, for example, birds, tortoise, beaver, observed that bitwear traces will wear off
deer, have been identified, while the cattle if a horse is not bitted regularly over a
and pigs were suggestively enormous. relatively long period recently before its
Much more work needs to be done on this death.
assemblage, but the initial results lend 4. The question of whether the wear
support to the far more detailed analyses pattern described by Anthony and Brown
already carried out on the material from could have had other causes has not been
adequately addressed. Their unbitted
Dereivka (Levine 1990, 1993). On the one
sample of feral horses consisted of 20 in-
hand, there is little or no evidence that the
dividuals from two North American pop-
Dereivka culture people were pastoralists,
ulations (mustangs from the mountains of
while on the other hand, there is a good
Nevada and barrier island ponies from
reason to believe that they were hunter- the Atlantic Coast). They have generalized
gatherers (Levine and Rassamakin 1996). from this small sample that unbitted
Horses are relatively uncommon in horses could not manifest the wear pat-
European Mesolithic and Neolithic ar- tern they describe as unique to bitwear.
chaeological deposits. It has, therefore, On the other hand, Angela von den Dri-
commonly been held to be the case that esch (personal communication) has ob-
they could not have been domesticated served that similar, if not identical, wear
during those periods. On the other on the lower second premolar can result
hand, relatively large quantities of horse from abnormal occlusion with the upper
bones and teeth have been recovered second premolar.
from Eneolithic sites on the central Eur-
As far as we know, then, beveling on the
asian Steppe. Characteristics of tooth
anterior part of the lower P2 masticatory
morphology, population structure, ta-
surface could be caused by bitwear or ab-
phonomy, and taxonomic distinctions normal occlusion. Either a domesticated
based on measurements, have been horse or a wild one that had been tamed
credited as evidence for horse domesti- could be bitted. The absence of bitwear
cation. Until recently, however, the most could indicate that a horse had not been
important criterion had been that of in- ridden recently or regularly before its
creased relative abundance, which could death, that it was ridden unbitted, or that
be explained as well, or even better, by it never was ridden. We must conclude
increased hunting rather than by from this that bitwear should not be used
domestication (Bökönyi 1978, 1984; without corroboration as proof of domes-
Bibikova 1967, 1970, 1969; Petrenko 1984; tication. This is not to say that bitwear
Levine 1990, 1993). studies should not be carried out. On the34 MARSHA A. LEVINE
contrary, their use should be much more example, biomolecular analyses, stable
widespread, but in conjunction with other isotope studies, paleopathology, ethnoar-
methods of analysis. chaeology, ethology, and paleoenviron-
ment research as well as more conven-
1.2.3. Sample Size and Innovation tional archaeological methods, is crucial to
this approach. The goal of this paper is to
Archaeologists and archaeozoologists take a step in that direction by using a
continually lament the inadequacy of combination of ethnoarchaeological, etho-
their samples. The assumption being logical, and archaeological analyses to
that if only large enough datasets were look at the archaeological and archaeo-
available, they would be able to find the zoological data. But this is only the begin-
answer to any practically any question. ning.
However, this might not be the case.
Considering the skills needed for man- 2. POPULATION STRUCTURE AND
aging large numbers of horses and con- MODELS OF HORSE EXPLOITATION
sidering the small-scale nature of tam-
ing, from which, as will be argued later, The particular aspect of horse hus-
domestication is most likely to have bandry to be examined here is population
evolved, the key to the origins of horse structure. Survivorship and mortality pat-
domestication might well lie with small terns of recent horse herds are compared
samples. Archaeozoologists must face with various models and with assem-
up to this and develop methodologies blages from Eneolithic and Iron Age/Ro-
that can cope with this reality. To regard man archaeological sites. The methodol-
small samples only as a problem is to ogy used integrates taphonomy and
miss an opportunity. butchery evidence with morphometrical,
paleopathological, and population struc-
1.3. A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ture analyses. All of these are interpreted
APPROACH with reference to ecological, ethological,
ethnoarchaeological, and contextual data
The common thread, connecting all as- (Levine 1979, 1982, 1983, 1990).
pects of the project, out of which this pa-
per has evolved is the question of the or- 2.1. Relationships between Horses
igins and evolution of horse husbandry, and People
its social and ecological implications— People can have a wide variety of dif-
whether, for example, it arose out of agri- ferent types of relationships with horses.
cultural, pastoral, or foraging communi- Horses can be wild, feral, 3 or domesti-
ties— how the domestication of the horse cated. Wild or feral horses can be hunted
altered the balance of power in ancient for their meat and other body parts, or
communities, and its impact on forest– tamed as pets or beasts of burden. Do-
steppe and steppe ecosystems. In the mesticated animals can be raised for
broadest sense, my goal is to evaluate the riding, traction, meat, milk, and other
ways in which environmental, social, and products. Moreover, even within one so-
economic changes are interrelated and to ciety any combination of these relation-
try to understand the role of the horse in ships can coexist.
the equation. Such a complex problem Though customarily defined as the con-
requires a multidimensional attack with trolled breeding of plants or animals by
ammunition provided through the devel- humans, the real distinctiveness of do-
opment of new analytical methods. Inter- mestication lies in the fact that it involves
disciplinary collaboration, including, for ownership and thus results in a com-ORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 35 pletely different level of human commit- have a good laugh. There is no reason why ment than does hunting (Levine 1979). the motivations of the informant should Horse taming also involves ownership, be any less complicated than those of the but it seems likely from the historical and interviewer. ethnographic evidence so far available 3. Which brings us to the distortions that the social and economic implications arising from the interviewer’s shortcom- of horse taming would have been, at most, ings. For example, phrasing a question relatively superficial and localized and clearly, but not leadingly, can be particu- would have disappeared with the death of larly difficult. Imperfect knowledge of the the animals involved, while the repercus- informant’s native language is a serious sions of domestication would have rever- problem. The horse husbandry and berated throughout the whole society. butchery vocabularies of most interpret- Our goal should not, therefore, be simply ers are not ideal. Moreover, it is impossi- to identify horse riding, traction, milking, ble to ask about everything. Certain limits and meat eating in the archaeological must be placed in respect for the time and record, but, additionally, to find evidence patience of the informant. Therefore, the of horse breeding and taming, which are, choice of which questions to ask is critical. as such, archaeologically invisible. How- They need to be unambiguous and di- ever, they may be approached indirectly rected specifically toward solving archae- through investigations of population struc- ological problems. ture, archaeological context, and other 4. Then, assuming that we have taken characteristics of the data. into account and minimized all these dif- Historical and ethnographic accounts, ficulties, we still have to deal with prob- as well as new ethnoarchaeological re- lems associated with the use and misuse search, are all employed here to gain ac- of ethnographic analogy, by its nature cess to that variability. However, it is im- highly complicated and potentially bi- portant to observe at the very outset of ased, to interpret the archaeological evi- this discussion that these kinds of data dence— equally complex and probably sources have their own particular prob- even more biased, for example, by tapho- lems. For example: nomic factors. 1. Inaccuracy. Particularly in the case of Archaeologists have been known to interviews relating to past practices, we throw up their arms in despair at the dif- can expect lapses of memory to distort ficulties encountered with ethnographic events that took place in the past. For ex- analogy and, indeed, some say that it can ample, in the case of interviews dealing only lead to tears. However, to interpret with the period before collectivization, 4 archaeological data we must have some my informants could not recall details of understanding of how human beings ac- herd population structure. tually behave. The unsatisfactory nature 2. Distortions resulting from the infor- of the work carried out until recently re- mant’s own personal agenda. It is well garding horse domestication has clearly known among anthropologists that infor- demonstrated this problem (Levine 1990, mants may have their own reasons for 1993). Without minimizing the difficulties what they say. For example, they may un- involved, it is therefore necessary to learn der- or overestimate the size of their how to use ethnographic and historical herds, if they think that there is an eco- data. Consequently, the objective of this nomic or political advantage to do so. ethnoarchaeological study is not the direct Moreover, many people will say what is interpretation of archaeological data from expected of them to please or simply to ethnographic and historical accounts, but
36 MARSHA A. LEVINE
rather, an exploration of the range of ex- mounted on swift horses, and kill them
tant possibilities, without assuming that with broad lances. Their flesh they esteem
no others could have existed in the past. excellent food; and use their skins to sleep
upon” (Mohr 1971, p. 27).
2.1.1. Capturing and Taming Horses According to 19th-century records,
there were two methods of capturing Pr-
According to Clutton-Brock, “A tame zewalski’s horse foals. One was to trap
animal differs from a wild one in that it is them in pits dug near waterholes. The
dependent on man and will stay close to other was for mounted men to chase and
him of its own free will” (1987, p. 12). capture them with the arkan (a long pole
Aboriginal hunter-gatherers and horticul- with a noose fastened to one end). When
turists throughout the world are known to the pursuer came close enough to his tar-
tame all kinds of wild animals to keep as get, he would drop the noose over its head
pets (Serpell 1986, 1989). 5 There is no rea- and neck (Mohr 1971). Grum-Grshimailo
son to think that this would not have been documents another method: “During the
the case at least from the time of the ear- foaling season the Kalmucks take two
liest anatomically modern Homo sapiens, horses into the desert. As soon as they
and when the need arose, taming could have found a herd, they chase them until
well have been the first step toward do- the exhausted foals fall over. These foals
mestication (Galton 1883; Clutton-Brock are picked up and placed in the domesti-
1987; Serpell 1989). Wild horses, particu- cated herd” (Mohr 1971, p. 68). Przewals-
larly as foals, can be captured and tamed ki’s horses were also captured by driving,
and, as such, ridden or harnessed and, at though it is not clear whether the beaters
the end of their lives, if necessary, slaugh- were on foot or horseback: “Even in 1750 it
tered and eaten. was said: ‘The entire land around Lyau-
2.1.1.1. Taming the Przewalski’s horse. His- tong is a wilderness; the emperor hunts
torical records also show that the capture, there with three thousand beaters, who
taming, and eventual captive breeding of put up the game and drive it towards him,
wild horses was dependent on the accu- so that in one day 200 to 300 horses,
mulation of knowledge about their behav- amongst others may be caught’” (Mohr
ior and on the development of techniques 1971, p. 27).
to exploit that behavior. Perhaps the ear- The early 20th-century collectors found
liest record of a horse captured by these that their greatest difficulty was not in
means dates from 113 B.C.: catching the horses, but rather in keeping
A Chinese . . . near Tun-huang, on the north-
them alive in captivity. Attempts to feed
west frontier, frequently saw a horse . . . drink- unweaned foals on sheep and goat milk
ing in the river along with a number of wild were not successful. The solution to this
horses. He tamed the strange horse by putting at problem was to foster them with domes-
the water-side a dummy figure of a man in
ticated mares (Bouman and Bouman
whose hands were bridle and halter. When the
horse was used to this sight he substituted him- 1994). According to Frederick von Falz-
self for the dummy, captured the horse. (Waley Fein, one of the early collectors:
1955, pp. 98 –9)
In 1897 a number of young wild horses were
In another example Mohr refers to the captured, but they all died because the catch
description by John Bell, an 18th-century was not done as it should have been. I worked
out the fullest details of the method and laid
Scottish doctor and traveler, of Przewals-
much stress on the importance of the animals
ki’s horse hunting from horseback: “these not being chased before capture, but rather by
animals are often surprised by the Kal- shooting their mothers. As we could not get
mucks; who ride in among them, well milking mares from the Mongolians living in theORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 37
area, we had to buy them in Bijsk, and have old son . . . to sit on his back” (Mohr 1971,
them covered so that they foaled at the same p. 69). She also describes how an “untam-
time as the wild mares.. . . Since these rules were
not obeyed—the catch was again unsuccessful
able” wild stallion was tamed and ridden:
and all the animals died. We told Assanoff again “In Askania Nova however, he found his
to stick to the rules and thereafter there were no master and within a month he was being
more failures. (Mohr 1971, 95–96) ridden by his south Russian groom and on
the command would lie down like a Cir-
Przewalski’s horse mares currently in cassian horse” (Mohr 1971, p. 69).
captivity usually wean their young from This has important implications for the-
the age of 1 year until just before the birth ories concerning early horse taming. It
of their next foal, or even for several years seems likely that before the availability of
if they do not give birth every year (Houpt domesticated mares to foster captured
and Boyd 1994). Berger observed of the foals, there would have been both lower
Great Basin feral horses that 34 of 40 (85%) and upper limits to the ages at which tam-
were weaned before the age of 1 year and ing would have been successful. Although
27 (79%) of those were not observed to very few data relevant to this question
suckle after their ninth month. “Because seem to be available, the lower limit might
of winter-related stresses and because the have been at around the age of 2 months.
last trimester of pregnancy demands the We can only speculate about a possible
most nutritionally . . . mothers weaned their upper limit on the basis of comments in
offspring during winters” (Berger 1986, p. the literature referring to the difficulty or
116). Foals can be weaned much earlier. impossibility of taming adults (Mohr 1971).
However, there is a cost to pay: “Evidence However, other factors, which would also
for the importance of milk versus highly have been critical, include the skills of the
nutritious food for early growth rates is captor and the personality of the horse.
still sparse, but animal scientists have 2.1.1.2. Taming North American feral
found that orphaned foals experience horses. Some parallels between central
stunted development despite provision- Eurasian and North American aboriginal
ing with high planes of nutrition” (Berger, horse capture and taming techniques are
1986, p. 119). Berger mentions a mustang particularly interesting because they sug-
from the Granite Range (Nevada), or- gest that certain aspects of the human–
phaned at the age of 2 months. Despite horse relationship are not culture-bound,
access to good-quality grazing, even at the but are rather mediated by both species’
age of 3 years, he was only the size of a natural patterns of behavior in a much
yearling. Similarly a captive Przewalski more fundamental way. For example, ac-
foal, orphaned at the age of 221 months, cording to Ewers (1955), northern Plains
survived but lagged in growth behind his peoples such as the Blackfoot and the
unorphaned paternal half-siblings until Cree were not very skilled at taming mus-
the age of 3 years despite supplemental tangs, the North American feral horses.
feeding (Houpt and Boyd 1994). Most of the few adult feral horses cap-
Taming and riding Przewalski’s horses tured by them died after they reached
captured from the wild was at one time camp. However, some colts and yearlings
considered to be practically impossible were caught by “horse medicine men,”
(Mohr 1971). However, Erna Mohr refers specialist feral horse tamers, whose tam-
to a 6-month-old Przewalski horse that ing technique was described as follows:
“had become so far tame that it was easily
A man who possessed horse medicine for use in
led and went quietly up the granite stair- catching wild horses rubbed it on his hands, feet,
case to the second story of the castle, was and rope. Then he circled the wild horse up wind
led into a room and allowed the 7– 8 year so that the odour of the medicine would be carried38 MARSHA A. LEVINE
to the nostrils of the wild one. When the wild tion of a corral apparently used by the
horse smelled the medicine it came to him. He Cheyenne:
roped it by the front feet and threw it down. Only
horse medicine men were said to have had success [I]n the year 1836, members of Cheyenne war
in capturing wild horses. (Ewers 1955, p. 274) parties . . . in what is now Oklahoma, found a
great corral which had been used for catching
According to Ewers, the southern and horses. This pen was situated in a park or open-
central Plains tribes were much more ing in the black-jack timber . . . This pen was not
circular in shape, but was oval, the opening be-
skilled than the northern tribes at captur-
ing at one end. The fence . . . was a stockade
ing mustangs. The former had more and formed of black-jack posts set on end in the
earlier experience of horses and they had ground and close together. On the outside of the
bigger herds, which suggests that they fence brush and the limbs of trees were piled
were more familiar with horse behavior. against the stockade. The wings of underbrush
were heaped up high and wide, so that a horse
However, all the Plains groups were in
could neither see through nor jump over
agreement that mustangs were difficult to them . . .
catch. According to George Catlin: . . . the Kiowas explained to the Cheyennes the
purpose and the manner of use of the structure.
There is no other animal on the prairies so wild
Of the horses driven into this corral the best
and so sagacious as the horse; and none other so
young ones were roped and dragged out to be
difficult to come up with. So remarkably keen is
used, while the older and otherwise less useful
their eye, that they will generally run “at the
animals were butchered for their flesh and
sight,” when they are a mile distant; being, no
hides. The Kiowas used horse-hide for all pur-
doubt, able to distinguish the character of the
poses for which the skins of large animals are
enemy that is approaching when at that dis-
employed. (Grinnell 1923, p. 292)
tance; and when in motion, will seldom stop
short of three or four miles. (Catlin 1841, Vol. 1,
2. The Chase: All other things being
p. 57).
equal a man on horseback is no match for
The two main tools used for capturing a free-running mustang. Therefore, the
feral horses were the lasso with a running Indians developed variations on the chase
loop and the lasso loop fixed to a long theme that would enable them to capture
stick, very much like the Mongol arkan strong, healthy animals.
(Ewers 1955). In conjunction with an inti-
a. Chasing animals in a weakened
mate knowledge of horse behavior and a
state: The ethnographic literature is not
fit, well-trained mount, these could be
always clear about details of how horses
used successfully to capture and break
were captured. However, the most wide-
mustangs (Catlin 1841; Ewers 1955; Grin-
spread method seems to have involved
nell 1923; James 1823; Wallace and Hoebel
running down the mustangs on horseback
1952). A number of methods of capturing
and dropping a noose over their head.
horses have been described in the ethno-
This method was employed by the Man-
graphic literature:
dan and the Osage (Catlin 1841), the Com-
1. Corralling: This method was used ex- manche (Wallace and Hoebel 1952), and
tensively by the Kiowa and occasionally the Cheyenne (Grinnell 1923). As ob-
by the Commanche 6 and Cheyenne. Wal- served by Wallace and Hoebel, all other
lace and Hoebel (1952) speculate that it things being equal, this method could be
could have evolved out of antelope and successful only for weak animals, for ex-
bison hunts, but the same technique was ample, foals and pregnant or suckling
also used by the Spanish for hunting mares, since a strong horse should be able
horses. On one occasion in 1852, 400 to 500 to run faster than a horse and rider. How-
horses were driven into an enclosure by ever, things were not always equal. For
the Commanches (Wallace and Hoebel example, using a well-fed riding horse
1952). Grinnell gives a detailed descrip- gave the captor an advantage in the winterORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 39
or early spring when most feral horses dency to circle to the left when being fol-
were in poor condition. On the other lowed:
hand, a fit horse could be used to run The Indian seeing the direction in which the
down fat horses in summer or to chase horse is “leaning,” knows just about the point
“waterlogged” horses just leaving the wa- where the animal will stop, and steers in a
terhole (Wallace and Hoebel 1952; Grin- straight line to it, where they arrive nearly at the
same instant, the horse having run a mile, while
nell 1923). his pursuer has gone but half or three-quarters
b. Chasing in relays: This method was of the distance. (Catlin 1875, p. 113).
expensive in terms of energy consump- He would thus keep it on the move until it
tion, but would have resulted in the cap- was so exhausted that he could throw a
ture of the very best animals, including lasso over its head.
stallions. It was used by the Osage (James
3. Capturing with decoys: Both the
1823) and the Commanche (Wallace and
Cheyenne and the Commanches targeted
Hoebel 1952).
bachelor groups by sending out a few old,
In capturing the hard-to-take stallions . . . the gentle mares as decoys (Wallace and
best way was to stalk them with a team of co- Hoebel 1952; Grinnell, 1923). According to
operating hunters. Each herd tended to move Grinnell, “after a time the herd could be
about within a limited range of territory; when
approached, driven together, and perhaps
flushed, it was likely to travel in a circle, return-
ing eventually to or near the spot where it was
many of the young horses caught” (Grin-
originally found. To accomplish this end, one or nell 1923, p. 295).
more horsemen kept the herd continuously on
2.1.1.3. Taming captured mustangs. Some
the move without allowing it either to eat or to
drink . . . the stalkers, by remaining on the in- of the ethnographic reports are rather
side of the circle, travelled a much shorter dis- self-contradictory in that they suggest, on
tance than the herd. When their own mounts the one hand, that taming feral horses was
wearied, the riders were replaced by others or very difficult while, on the other hand,
were supplied with fresh mounts. This proce- they describe the process as if it were very
dure was continued without let-up for two or
simple. For example, regarding the ab-
three days or until the herd became exhausted,
when a number of riders on fresh mounts rode original inhabitants of the Great Plains,
in and lassoed their pick of the wild horses.” Catlin states that “Scarcely a man in these
(Wallace and Hoebel 1952, p. 44) regions is to be found, who is not the
owner of one or more of these horses; and
c. The surround: On the open plains, in many instances of eight, ten or even
mustangs would be surrounded by a twenty, which he values as his own per-
group of riders. When a horse would try to sonal property” (Catlin 1841a, p. 142).
break away, a noose was dropped over its Moreover, with regard to the acquisition
head (Wallace and Hoebel 1952). of a mustang by a Frenchman, raised in an
Osage village, he remarks: “the whole
d. Chasing on foot: According to Catlin, thing, the capture, and breaking, all hav-
the Cheyenne, who captured more mus- ing been accomplished within the space of
tangs than any other tribe, frequently one hour, our usual and daily halt at mid-
used this method. A horseman would day” (Catlin 1841b, p. 60). This paradox is
start out by “plunging” into a band of wild partly explained by the diverse origins of
horses, forcing one animal out of the the sources referred to here, but perhaps
group, whereupon he would dismount also by the talent that experts have to
from his own animal and set out on foot make the most difficult activities appear
after the panicked individual. This is an- simple. In other words, it is possible that
other method that exploits the horse’s ten- the European observers overstated their40 MARSHA A. LEVINE
understanding of the events taking place Interestingly this method employs the
around them. This ignorance is well illus- same kind of psychological approach as
trated by Catlin’s account of his own mis- that recently developed by Monty Robert
begotten attempt to capture a feral horse: in which the safe space or “comfort zone,”
occupied by the gentle but dominant
[W]e would try the experiment of “creasing” trainer, is opposed to the dangerous space
one . . . which is done by shooting them through
the gristle on the top of the neck, which stuns
away from him, in which the horse feels
them so that they fall, and are secured with threatened and isolated (Bayley and Max-
hobbles on the feet; after which they rise again well 1996). This training method takes ad-
without fatal injury. This is a practice often re- vantage both of the horse’s instinctive
sorted to by expert hunters. . . . My friend Joe flight response and of its natural sociabil-
and I . . . having both levelled our pieces at the
ity.
withers of a noble, fine-looking iron grey, we
pulled trigger, and the poor creature fell. . . .We
One Commanche and Cheyenne method
advanced speedily to him, and had the most of taming involved tying the choked cap-
inexpressible mortification . . . to find that one of tive to the tail of a gentle mare (Wallace
our shots had broken the poor creature’s neck, and Hoebel 1952; Grinnell 1923):
and that he was quite dead. (Catlin 1841b, p. 58)
Three or four days later . . . it was set free, and
Despite its shortcomings, it is useful to thereafter followed her about wherever she
went. The mare was then used to tame another
consider some of the documentation re-
horse, and if the party was out for a long time
ferring to the process of breaking and some mares might have eight or ten captured
taming feral horses. According to Catlin, horses following them about. These wild horses
the affect of the lasso on the horse was to were readily broken to the saddle. While they
constrict its air passage until it fell over, were “tailed” to the mare, the owner would oc-
casionally go up to the mare, pat her for a little
whereupon its captor hobbled its forefeet while, and then pass on to the young horse,
together, fitted a halter with a noose that handling it and gentling it. In this way it became
tied under its jaw, and loosened the lasso accustomed to the sight and smell of man, and
so that it could breathe. Then, no longer feared him. Sometimes after the horse
had become somewhat gentle, a young man
by a great many useless struggles to rise, the would spring on its back and at once jump off
horse remaining yet in its sitting posture, and again. The wild horse soon learned that it was
the Indian approaching nearer and nearer (inch not to be hurt. The man who mounted would
by inch) to its nose, on the shortened halter, and presently sit on the horse for a little while, and
yelling as loud as he can, the animal’s fear is then the old mare might be led about by some-
increased to the highest degree. The Indian still one while the young man was sitting on the wild
advances nearer on the tightened halter, and at horse’s back. Thus the work of breaking it to ride
length begins patting the horse on the nose, and was not long. (Grinnell 1923, pp. 294 –295)
gradually slipping his hand over its eyes, begins
breathing in its nostrils, their noses being to-
Unfortunately, no survival rates are
gether. available for any of these methods. But
After a few breaths exchanged in this manner, some were, apparently, brutal enough to
the relaxation of the horse’s muscles and its explain the difficulty some groups experi-
other motions, show that its fears are at an end— enced in keeping captives alive. Other rel-
that it recognises a friend instead of a foe, in its
evant factors could well have been the
captor; and this compromise being effected, the
Indian is seen stroking down its mane, and oth- age, sex, constitution, and personality of
erwise caressing it; and in fifteen or twenty min- the horse as well as the skill of the captor.
utes he is seen riding it quietly off!
. . . the excess of fatigue, of fright, and actual
2.1.2. Modelling Horse Use
pain, followed by soothing and kindness, seems
to disarm the spirited animal, and to attach it at
once, in a mysterious way, to its new master. During historical times both the North
(Catlin 1875, p. 109 –110) American Plains tribes and the MongolsORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 41
used the arkan, lasso, or herd drive to cap- age. The first mares placed with the stallion
ture wild or feral horses to eat or to tame. should be younger than he and the harem size
should be kept small until the stallion gains age
Horses taming was regarded as a skill and experience. (Boyd and Houpt 1994, p. 226)
most successfully carried out by special-
ists, whose most important tool was their That capturing wild horses and stealing
intimate knowledge of horse behavior. On tamed or domesticated ones were re-
this basis I would like to propose a possi- garded by the Plains tribes as preferable
ble scenario for the development of horse to breeding them supports the scenario
husbandry. proposed here. If it is correct, it seems
As a working hypothesis, I would like to likely that there would have been a rela-
suggest that horse taming probably first tively long period when new horses would
arose as a by-product of horse hunting for have been recruited from wild popula-
meat. Orphaned foals, captured between tions. This could have been carried out by
the ages of perhaps 2 months and 1 year, trapping, driving, and chasing, as docu-
or possibly somewhat later, would some- mented for the Mongols and North Amer-
times have been adopted and raised as ican Plains tribes.
pets. Eventually, and perhaps repeatedly, This leads me to hypothesize that horse
the discovery was made that these pets domestication could have taken a rela-
could be put to work. This knowledge tively long time to develop and might well
could have been acquired and lost many have depended on the taming of individ-
times from the Pleistocene onward. But it uals predisposed to breed in captivity.
was, apparently, only during the Holo- Horse domestication would thus, in a
cene—possibly between the Neolithic and sense, have been initiated by the horses
the Early Bronze Age—that it began to themselves. Also significant is the possi-
influence human social developments. bility that human understanding of horse
Initially the difficulties involved in behavior had developed to such a degree
keeping captured wild horses alive would that horses finally could breed in captiv-
have set limits to their impact as work ity. Perhaps the most likely scenario is
animals on human society. Furthermore, that the human and equine parts of the
considering the problems encountered by equation would have evolved together.
modern collectors trying to breed Przew- The development of horse breeding
alski’s horses, it seems likely that horse- would, of course, have had particular sig-
keeping would have had to have been nificance outside the natural range of the
relatively advanced before controlled wild horse.
breeding, and thus domestication, would
2.2. An Ethnoarchaeological
have been possible: “Failure to consider
Investigation of Equine Pastoralism
the typical social organization of the spe-
cies can result in problems such as pacing, Scholars from Russia and other parts of
excessive rates of aggression, impotence Eastern Europe have carried out im-
and infanticide” (Boyd and Houpt 1994, p. mensely valuable ethnographic research
222). To breed wild horses successfully in on central Eurasian equine pastoralism.
captivity, their environmental, nutritional, However, this work does not usually di-
and social requirements must be met: rectly address the questions of particular
relevance to the study of the origins of
In zoos, juvenile male Przewalski’s horses horse domestication. The project to be
should be left in their natal bands for at least a discussed below has been designed spe-
year so that they can observe mating behaviour.
They should be placed in bachelor herds when
cifically to deal with issues connected with
removed from the natural band, and not given that problem. It presents some results
harems until they are at least four or five years of from an ongoing ethnoarchaeological42 MARSHA A. LEVINE
TABLE 2
Informant’s Background Information
Husbandry Economic
Informant Location Ecosystem type system
Damdin E. Mongolia Steppe Traditional Nomadic
Jambalsuren C. Mongolia Mountains Traditional Settled
Mursabaev N. Kazakhstan Forest–steppe Modern Ranching
Shavardak N. Kazakhstan Forest–steppe Modern Settled
Kozakhmetov N. Kazakhstan Forest–steppe Traditional Semi-nomadic
study of equine pastoralism on the Eur- riod discussed here will be that of their
asian steppe. The data have arisen princi- childhood or as far back as their parents’
pally in the course of five interviews, con- reminiscences. Thus, traditional, as de-
ducted between 1989 and 1992, with fined here, extends from the end of the
people involved with horse husbandry in 19th century to the 1930s in the case of
Mongolia and northern Kazakhstan in the Kazakhstan and to the 1950s in the case of
recent past or present. Mongolia.
2.2.1.1. Background information (Table
2.2.1. The Interviews 2). The first two interviews were carried
out in Cambridge in 1989 and 1990. The
Although the interviews covered all as- informants, Damdin and Jambalsuren, were
pects of horse husbandry—from those visiting scholars at the Mongolian and In-
related to riding and traction to those con- ner Asian Studies Unit (Cambridge).
nected with milk, meat, and hide produc- Damdin, a senior lecturer in the Depart-
tion—this paper concentrates on those ment of Foreign Languages (Ulan Bator
associated with population structure. It at- University, Mongolia), grew up on the
tempts to demonstrate how certain ar- steppe in the extreme eastern part of
chaeozoologically visible characteristics of Mongolia, in the Jargalant district of the
horse husbandry, such as age and sex Dornod province during the late 1930s
structure, fit into the overall picture of and 1940s. He was from a family of pasto-
pastoral life. It also gives some indication ral nomads belonging to the Khalkha clan.
of the variability of possible behaviors re- Since collectivization did not take place in
lated to equine pastoralism. Although the Dornod until 1955, the way of life he de-
data collected are not generally appropri- scribes was still rather traditional. Impor-
ate for direct translation into life tables, tant characteristics of this lifestyle include
they can be used for the development of the absence of permanent dwellings (they
models and in general comparisons. lived in felt tents, known as yurts), and
The word traditional is used here pri- year-round migrations, seasonal in char-
marily to describe precollectivization acter, in search of grazing for their herds
methods of horse husbandry. Collectiviza- of horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and camels.
tion took place— or perhaps more signifi- Jambalsuren (Academy of Sciences, In-
cantly, took hold—in different places at stitute of Language, Ulan Bator, Mongo-
different times. In northern Kazakhstan it lia) grew up in the mountainous region of
is dated to the 1930s, but it was not im- central Mongolia during the 1950s. His fa-
posed on Mongolia until 1955. Since my ther was a carpenter and his family was
informants’ accounts are entirely depen- settled. Until the age of 16 years Jambal-
dent on their memories, the earliest pe- suren was a yak herder. Because his fatherORIGINS OF HORSE DOMESTICATION 43
was a craftsman and because of the moun- TABLE 3
tainous terrain, his family did not have Number of Horses per Household
many horses. He, therefore, had only a Informant Minimum Average Maximum
limited knowledge of horse husbandry.
The next three interviews took place in Damdin 10 20–301 100s–1000s
1992 in the forest–steppe zone of northern Jambalsuren 1/person 40 3000
Mursabaev 1 — —
Kazakhstan, where the informants live.
Shavardak 1 — 10
Dastan Chalievich Murzabaev, president Kozhakhmetov 4–10 40 300
of the trade union at the Kirov sovkhoz in
the Dzhambul region of North Kazakhstan,
discussed contemporary horse ranching at
the state farm where he worked. (steppe and forest–steppe) and husbandry
Yurii Ivanovich Shavardak works for strategies (nomadic, semi-nomadic, and
the Burlukskii sovkhoz (Volodarovskii settled) are represented in these inter-
views. The diversity of the data gives
district, North Kazakhstan). He herds all
some idea of the range of possible strate-
the horses from Nikolskoe, a village near
gies available to horse herders in the
the archaeological site of Botai. Most of
steppe and forest–steppe regions of cen-
the horses are owned privately by the Ka-
tral Eurasia. It is hypothesized that simi-
zakh inhabitants of the village, but some
larities and differences arising from that
belong to the sovkhoz. Shavardak grew up
diversity might have some value in eluci-
in Nikolskoe and, although he is Russian,
dating some of the fundamental elements
he was trained to herd and butcher horses
of equine pastoralism. Of course, care
using a mixture of modern, that is, post-
must be taken in generalizing from such a
collectivization, and traditional Kazakh
small sample. Moreover, throughout the
methods. Collectivization took place in millennia waves of change have repeat-
this region during the 1930s. edly swept across Eurasia, drawing people
Mamet Kozhakhmetovich Kozhakhme- together and tearing them apart, remind-
tov, born in 1915, is a former herdsmen, ing us that history is no bit player in this
then schoolteacher, and finally, at the time story.
of the interview, a pensioner. He was born 2.2.1.2. Number of horses per household
and brought up at Botai aul 7 (Karatalskii (Table 3). Generalizations about the
sovkhoz, Volodarovskii district, North Ka- quantity of horses in settled households
zakhstan). With the help of Eslyambey are not very useful, but it is quite interest-
Zakir’yanovich Zakir’yanov, his relative ing to compare figures obtained from
and headmaster of the school in Nikols- Damdin and Kozhakhmetov concerning
koe, he described horse husbandry as it the period before collectivization. Taking
was in his childhood, before collectiviza- care not to read too much into a sample of
tion. The people from Botai aul are per- 2, it does seem that concepts relating to
manently settled now, but before collec- herd size were very similar for both the
tivization they were seminomadic. They nomadic Mongols and semi-nomadic Ka-
spent the cold months of the year in the zakhs interviewed. To carry out seasonal
permanent dwellings of the aul. In the migrations at least 10 horses were neces-
summer, however, they moved onto the sary. An average household had about 20
steppe. Each household had traditional to 40 and a rich household might have
rights to a particular territory and to a plot kept hundreds or even thousands of
of land where they could set their yurt horses. These figures are in line with
each year. those given by Khazanov (1984), Tokta-
A relatively wide variety of ecosystems baev (1992), and Krader (1955). Shavard-44 MARSHA A. LEVINE
TABLE 4
Herd Population Structure
Herd sex composition
Informant Reproductive unit Gelding structure Stallions Mares Foals Geldings
Damdin Family group With family group 1 15–20 15–20 15–20
Jambalsuren Family group Near family group 1 15 15 10
(0) a (1) (0) (4)
Mursabaev Stallions 1 mares In separate group 1 25 ? ?
Shavardak Family group In separate group 1 45 45 15
Kozhakhmetov Family group In separate group 1 15–20 20 ?
a
Figures in parentheses refer to his own family’s horses.
ak’s herd comprises about 100 horses, ploit to some extent the natural tendency
around 15 of which belong to the state of horses to structure themselves into
farm, while the rest are privately owned. family groups. That is, the pastoralist re-
Nearly all the Kazakh households in Ni- productive unit mimics the natural family
kolskoe have at least one horse, while group, composed of a stallion, his mares,
some have as many as 10. and their young. However, the structure
2.2.1.3. Population structure (Table 4). The of the pastoralist herd is, in all cases, dis-
natural reproductive unit of the torted by the artificially large number of
horse is the family group, composed of a mares assigned to each stallion. This is
stallion, his mares, and their young up to most extreme for the nontraditional herd-
the age of about 2 to 4 years. It may com- ers. The ratio of 1 stallion to 15 to 20 mares
prise up to 21 mares, although the average is remarkably constant in the traditional
is usually much less, perhaps around 2 to context. This is particularly interesting in
4 and usually no more than 5 or 6 (Berger the light of an observation by Houpt and
1986; Klingel 1969, 1974; Bouman and Bou- Boyd that “Przewalski’s stallions with har-
man 1994, Houpt and Boyd 1994). The stal- ems of thirteen to eighteen females have
lion normally starts his own family group become overly aggressive toward their
at the age of 5 or 6 years, although he mares or apathetic about breeding” (Boyd
might not be successful at holding one and Houpt 1994, p. 226). That the domestic
against attacks from other males until the mare:stallion ratio is only a little greater
age of 7 (Klingel 1969; Berger 1986; Mon- than the Przewalski ratio, attests both to
fort et al. 1994; Houpt and Boyd 1994). The the consistency of horse behavior and to
second natural type of horse social unit is the herders’ knowledge. Geldings are the
the bachelor group, made up entirely of domestic equivalent of equine bachelors.
males from the age of 2 years until their All males surplus to breeding require-
departure from the group to form their ments are castrated.
own bands and, less commonly, of older In the Mongolian cases all age and sex
males who have lost theirs to stronger classes graze more or less together. In
stallions. The bachelor group may com- Damdin’s pastoral nomadic example, the
prise up to 15 individuals, but the average geldings graze in their natal family
is much lower, about 2 to 4 (Klingel 1969; groups. According to Jambalsuren, geld-
Berger 1986). ings graze together near the family group
The structure of the wild herd is rele- but apart from it. The Kazakh herd struc-
vant here because all the horse husbandry ture seems generally to be more compli-
patterns, described by my informants, ex- cated. According to Murzabaev’s ranchingYou can also read
