The Iron Age Horse
(2017) In Jutland Archaeological Publications 99. p.195-201- Abstract
- The Sösdala find with its exquisite horse equipment is spectacular and testifies to the prominent role of the horse in Iron Age society. Although the remains of the horses themselves are absent, information about the animal's physical characteristics can be found in related finds from elsewhere in Scandinavia.
It is possible to infer that the horses do not seem to have expressed much phenotypic variation. The horses were around 120-140 cm over the withers and most were black, bay or chestnut in colour. Genetically. modern Nordic horses show abundant diversity both among and within horse breeds, possibly reflecting a bias toward the trading of females already in ancient times.
In contrast, local stallions seem to have... (More) - The Sösdala find with its exquisite horse equipment is spectacular and testifies to the prominent role of the horse in Iron Age society. Although the remains of the horses themselves are absent, information about the animal's physical characteristics can be found in related finds from elsewhere in Scandinavia.
It is possible to infer that the horses do not seem to have expressed much phenotypic variation. The horses were around 120-140 cm over the withers and most were black, bay or chestnut in colour. Genetically. modern Nordic horses show abundant diversity both among and within horse breeds, possibly reflecting a bias toward the trading of females already in ancient times.
In contrast, local stallions seem to have been highly valued and preferred over imported ones, based on the autochthonous paternal lineages exhibited by the same breeds.
At some point in time, an influx of genes from eastern horse populations occurred, possibly mirroring the eastern influences seen in other categories archaeological material, but this may also be of an earlier or later date. (Less)
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- author
- Rosengren, Erika LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- The Sösdala Horsemen - and the equestrian elite of fifth century Europe
- series title
- Jutland Archaeological Publications
- editor
- Fabech, Charlotte and Näsman, Ulf
- volume
- 99
- pages
- 195 - 201
- publisher
- Aarhus Universitetsforlag
- ISSN
- 0107-2854
- ISBN
- 978-87-93423-15-2
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8172fb06-1c08-4c11-a8a8-4e792db5639e
- date added to LUP
- 2017-11-17 14:21:09
- date last changed
- 2019-04-03 02:18:27
@inbook{8172fb06-1c08-4c11-a8a8-4e792db5639e, abstract = {{The Sösdala find with its exquisite horse equipment is spectacular and testifies to the prominent role of the horse in Iron Age society. Although the remains of the horses themselves are absent, information about the animal's physical characteristics can be found in related finds from elsewhere in Scandinavia. <br/><br/>It is possible to infer that the horses do not seem to have expressed much phenotypic variation. The horses were around 120-140 cm over the withers and most were black, bay or chestnut in colour. Genetically. modern Nordic horses show abundant diversity both among and within horse breeds, possibly reflecting a bias toward the trading of females already in ancient times. <br/><br/>In contrast, local stallions seem to have been highly valued and preferred over imported ones, based on the autochthonous paternal lineages exhibited by the same breeds. <br/>At some point in time, an influx of genes from eastern horse populations occurred, possibly mirroring the eastern influences seen in other categories archaeological material, but this may also be of an earlier or later date.}}, author = {{Rosengren, Erika}}, booktitle = {{The Sösdala Horsemen - and the equestrian elite of fifth century Europe}}, editor = {{Fabech, Charlotte and Näsman, Ulf}}, isbn = {{978-87-93423-15-2}}, issn = {{0107-2854}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{195--201}}, publisher = {{Aarhus Universitetsforlag}}, series = {{Jutland Archaeological Publications}}, title = {{The Iron Age Horse}}, volume = {{99}}, year = {{2017}}, }