A Mathematical Theory of Horse Adoption on The North American Plains
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9218082 |
|---|---|
| Authors | R Brooke Jacobsen (Jacobsen Department of Human Development and Family Studies), Jeffrey L Eighmy (Eighmy Department of Anthropology Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado 80523) |
| Year | 1980 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 90 |
| Pages | 333-342 |
| Publication date | 1980-11-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Plains Anthropologist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-0447 • E-ISSN: 2052-546X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/2052546.1980.11909002 |
| OpenAlex | W776146266 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 4 |
The horse complex and its subsequent influence on Plains culture is a major topic of Plains anthropology. Treatment of the topic has involved three trains of thoughts: 1) the process (form and rate) of horse adoption, 2) the spatial diffusion of the horse northward, and 3) the influence of the horse on Plains culture. This paper contributes to the study of the horse complex by focusing primarily on the adoption aspect of the problem and, secondarily, on the social implications for the plains area of the temporal regularity evident. The paper outlines a new theoretical explanation of the actual process of horse adoption-an S-curve hypothesis suggesting that adoption initially accelerated rapidly and then declined more slowly as all Plains tribes ultimately adopted the horse. We verify this hypothesis with documented empirical evidence on the adoption process derived from Ewers (1955). The empirical evidence and S-curve interpretation suggest: 1) two distinct groups of Plains tribes existed on the Plains, a southern and northern, separated by two webs of communication, 2) that this communication was frequent, and 3) that the two systems were well developed before the arrival of the horse
Archaeology · Economic geography · Empirical evidence · Epistemology · Geography · Horse · Interpretation (philosophy) · Process (computing) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Natural History · Computer Science · Geology · History · Paleontology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1983 - 2019 (37) |
| Highly cited | No |