The origins of saddles and riding technology in East Asia: discoveries from the Mongolian Altai

• Autores: Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan, Tsagaan Turbat, Chinbold Bayandelger, Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal, Juan Wang, Igor Chechushkov, Manabu Uetsuki, Naoto Isahaya, Mark Hudson, Noriyuki Shiraishi, Yue Li, Chengrui Zhang, Gelegdorj Eregzen, Gino Caspari, Paula López Calle, Joshua L. Conver, Gaëtan Tressières, Lorelei Chauvey, Julie Birgel, Nasan Ochir Erdene Ochir, Jan Bemmann, Gregory Hodgins, Kristine K. Richter, Ludovic Orlando, Christina Warinner, William Timothy Treal Taylor
• Localización: Antiquity, ISSN 0003-598X, Vol. 98, Nº 397, 2024, págs. 102-118
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Innovations in horse equipment during the early Middle Ages provided advantages to societies from the steppes, reshaping the social landscape of Eurasia. Comparatively little is known about the precise origin of these crucial advances, although the available evidence points to early adoption in East Asia. The authors present new archaeological discoveries from western and northern Mongolia, dating to the fourth and fifth centuries AD, including a wooden frame saddle with horse hide components from Urd Ulaan Uneet and an iron stirrup from Khukh Nuur. Together, these finds suggest that Mongolian groups were early adopters of stirrups and saddles, facilitating the expansion of nomadic hegemony across Eurasia and shaping the conduct of medieval mounted warfare.