Do the clothes make the horse? Relationality, roles and statuses in Iron Age Inner Asia

Bibliographic Data

ID3919741
AuthorsGala Argent (0000-0003-0636-5214, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume42
Issue2
Pages157-174
Publication date2010-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-8243 • E-ISSN: 1470-1375
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00438241003672633
OpenAlexW2012924291
LanguageEN
Citations received48
References cited27

Despite recent calls to view nonhuman animals as more than objects within archaeological studies, traditional interpretations of horses in Iron Age Inner Asian communities continue to consider them as relevant only through their functional or symbolic significance to humans. This article argues for a ‘relational’ rather than ‘domination’ model of human-horse interactions, and that a necessary step toward this is a clearer understanding of horses, themselves, as social beings. This is brought to light through ethological studies and the understandings of ‘working riders’, including the author. Using a case study of the Iron Age Pazyryk human-horse burials, it is then proposed that through this lens the outfits of the horses in the Pazyryk kurgans might be seen to reflect roles and statuses of the horses, rather than of the humans. Keywords: Iron AgePazyrykhuman-horse relationality Acknowledgements I wish to thank Kristin Armstrong Oma for her feedback on this piece, and for her ongoing support and encouragement. I am also grateful for valuable comments on the original version of this paper following the WAC-6 conference in Dublin, Ireland, particularly those from Marcus Brittain. Notes 1 With a nod to American humorist Mark Twain: ‘Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.’ 2 Xenophon (c. 430–335 bce), a Greek who wrote the first known text on the ridden horse, The Art of Horsemanship, encouraged mutual respect between riders and horses

Ancient history · Archaeology · Clothing · Ethnology · Geography · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Gender Studies · History

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