Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History by William T. Taylor is a welcome addition to the growing body of horse literature. The monograph traces the beginning of horse domestication on the Eurasian steppe, their rise to prominence, and the eventual shift to the “iron horse,” emphasizing the interconnectedness of horses across the globe. Taylor predominately relies on archeological evidence to support his claims and at times casts doubt on the traditional narrative of horse domestication.One of Taylor's strengths is his evident passion for and personal participation in many significant archeological discoveries in early horse history as well as his inclusion of relatively recent excavations frequently debunking or complicating generally accepted histories. The work begins with a gripping account of the author and his team at Morin Mort in Mongolia as they traced the heritage of ceremonial horse burials and petroglyphs among great stone monuments. From the beginning the reader is promised a work that emphasizes archeology and “scientific study of ancient horses themselves to tell the human-horse story” (xv). It is a promise that Taylor delivers on well.He clearly articulates his evidence, focusing at length on skeletal and funerary remains to show that the bones themselves tell a history of behaviors and activities. Based on this data, Taylor can determine when or if the horse was domesticated. For example, tooth analysis can show whether the animal was fed grain in the winter, indicating domestication. While the archeological terminology and its use as evidence is easy for someone not in the field to understand, readers who are not deeply familiar with the context of such discoveries may be momentarily drawn out of the impressive research. However, Taylor includes a short summary at the end of most of the chapters. This feature, in addition to varying the chapter lengths, enhances the overall readability of Hoof Beats.Taylor's holistic approach transports the reader across wide geographical areas, including Mongolia, Egypt, the broader Mediterranean, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and seemingly everywhere in between. Another strength of Hoof Beats is the inclusion of horse distribution maps demonstrating the global presence of the horse. Taylor succinctly organizes his work into four major sections: “Beat One: Horses and People,” “Beat Two: The Cart,” “Beat Three: The Rider,” and “Beat Four: The World,” each with an accompanying map. The maps serve as visual representations of the corresponding sections, easily illustrating Taylor's arguments about horse domestication, interconnectedness, and impacts on human history.The inclusion of twenty images explained in the text greatly aid in the comprehension of archeological finds. For example, Taylor emphasizes the study of horse skeletons, often noting different skeletal impacts as a result of the horse's work, such as chariot pulling or mounted riding, which is clearly demonstrated within the images. Many of the other images are photographs of petroglyphs, burials, and murals taken by the author, emphasizing his impassioned interest and breadth of experience in the subject. On the topic of images, many of the chapters also include smaller figures, often artistic representations. Although they are interesting, stronger incorporation into the text and clear indications to the reader when to view the figure (as with the larger images) would have been helpful.Overall, Hoof Beats is an impressive archeology-driven history of early horse domestication and the influence of the animal's spread on economy and culture from Eurasia to the rest of the world. It would be of great use to those desiring to understand the important place of horses from the beginning of human history. Taylor's use of the latest archeological discoveries, often accomplished by him and his own teams, adds great relevance to Hoof Beats. For example, the 2022 discovery of a trove of artifacts, including horse hoof clippings, led Taylor to argue that by the fourteenth century BCE, horse domestication had expanded to the Mongolian Altai. Of special note to Americanists is a chapter titled “The Return,” where horses proved once again critical with their reintroduction into North America by the Spanish. Taylor introduces new archeological discoveries to assert the theory that widespread use of the horse within Indigenous societies in the Southwest started long before what he labels the accepted narrative: the starting date of the Pueblo Revolt. These are but a few examples of Taylor's thoroughly researched work focused on early horse domestication, horse technologies (e.g., saddles, stirrups, and bits), and the horse's integration into human societies around the globe.
Hanna Lipsey (Fri,) studied this question.