Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies.
William Timothy Treal TaylorPablo LibradoMila Hunska Tašunke IcuCarlton Shield Chief GoverJimmy ArterberryAnpetu Luta WiƞAkil NujipiTanka OmniyaMario GonzalezBill MeansSam High CraneBarbara Dull KnifeWakiƞyala WiƞCruz Tecumseh CollinChance WardTheresa A PasqualLorelei ChauveyLaure Tonasso-CalviereStéphanie SchiavinatoAndaine Seguin-OrlandoAntoine FagesNaveed KhanClio Der SarkissianXuexue LiuStefanie WagnerBeth Ginondidoy LeonardBruce L ManzanoNancy O'MalleyJennifer A LeonardEloísa Bernáldez-SánchezEric BarreyLéa CharliquartEmilie RobbeThibault DenobletKristian Murphy GregersenAlisa O VershininaJaco WeinstockPetra Rajić ŠikanjićMarjan MashkourIrina ShingirayJean-Marc AuryAude PerdereauSaleh AlquraishiAhmed H AlfarhanKhaled A S Al-RasheidTajana Trbojević VukičevićMarcel BuricEberhard SauerMary LucasJoan Brenner ColtrainJohn R BozellCassidee A ThornhillVictoria MonagleAngela R PerriCody NewtonW Eugene HallJoshua L ConverPetrus J Le RouxSasha G BuckserCaroline GabeJuan Bautista BelardiChristina I Barrón-OrtizIsaac A HartChristina RyderMatthew SponheimerJoshua D KappJohn SouthonJoss HibbsCharlotte FaulknerAlan K OutramLaura Patterson RosaKatelyn PalermoMarina SoléAlice WilliamWayne McCroryGabriella LindgrenSamantha Ann BrooksCamille EchéCécile DonnadieuOlivier BouchezPatrick WinckerGregory HodginsSarah TrabertBrandi BethkePatrick RobertsEmily Lena JonesYvette Running Horse CollinLudovic OrlandoPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2023)
The horse is central to many Indigenous cultures across the American Southwest and the Great Plains. However, when and how horses were first integrated into Indigenous lifeways remain contentious, with extant models derived largely from colonial records. We conducted an interdisciplinary study of an assemblage of historic archaeological horse remains, integrating genomic, isotopic, radiocarbon, and paleopathological evidence. Archaeological and modern North American horses show strong Iberian genetic affinities, with later influx from British sources, but no Viking proximity. Horses rapidly spread from the south into the northern Rockies and central plains by the first half of the 17th century CE, likely through Indigenous exchange networks. They were deeply integrated into Indigenous societies before the arrival of 18th-century European observers, as reflected in herd management, ceremonial practices, and culture.