Early evidence for mounted horseback riding in northwest China

Abstract

Horseback riding was a transformative force in the ancient world, prompting radical shifts in human mobility, warfare, trade, and interaction. In China, domestic horses laid the foundation for trade, communication, and state infrastructure along the ancient Silk Road, while also stimulating key military, social, and political changes in Chinese society. Nonetheless, the emergence and adoption of mounted horseback riding in China is still poorly understood, particularly due to a lack of direct archaeological data. Here we present a detailed osteological study of eight horse skeletons dated to ca. 350 BCE from the sites of Shirenzigou and Xigou in Xinjiang, northwest China, prior to the formalization of Silk Road trade across this key region. Our analyses reveal characteristic osteological changes associated with equestrian practices on all specimens. Alongside other relevant archaeological evidence, these data provide direct evidence for mounted horseback riding, horse equipment, and mounted archery in northwest China by the late first millennium BCE. Most importantly, our results suggest that this region may have played a crucial role in the spread of equestrian technologies from the Eurasian interior to the settled civilizations of early China, where horses facilitated the rise of the first united Chinese empires and the emergence of transcontinental trade networks.

Keywords: China; Xinjiang; early Iron Age; horseback riding; zooarchaeology.

Fig. 1.

Map showing the location of major archaeological sites mentioned in this study.

Fig. 2.

Horse skeletons from M012K2 at Shirenzigou (Top Left), M011 at Shirenzigou (Top Right), M1K1 at Xigou (Bottom Left), and M1 at Xigou (Bottom Right).

Fig. 3.

Calibrated radiocarbon dates for seven horses from Shirenzigou and Xigou, along with posterior modeled start and end boundaries using a uniform phase model in OxCal. See details in SI Appendix, Tables S1 and S2.

Fig. 4.

The occurrence rate of abnormalities for individual vertebrae [modified from pl. 6 in Barone (33)] and the left/right asymmetry in abnormalities.

Fig. 5.

Vertebral abnormalities on horses from Shirenzigou and Xigou (T, thoracic vertebra; L, lumbar vertebra). See SI Appendix, Fig. S2 for close-ups of the abnormalities. 1) Horse 8, L1, ventral view, osteophytes (ventral part of vertebral body); 2) horse 8, T16, caudal view, osteophytes (posterior articular process); 3) horse 2, T13, caudal view, osteophytes and horizontal fracture (posterior articular surface of vertebral body); 4) horse 8, T15, caudal view, horizontal fracture (posterior articular surface of vertebral body), overriding/joining of dorsal spinous processes (spinous process); 5) horse 2, T16, cranial view, overriding/joining of dorsal spinous processes; 6) horse 4, L5–L6, dorsal view, spinal fusion; 7) horse 6, T14–T18, left lateral view, impinging of spinal processes; 8) horse 5, T13–T18, dorsal view, impinging of spinal processes; 9) horse 7, T12–T18, left lateral view, impinging of spinal processes.

Fig. 6.

Photos showing grooves on the right side of the maxilla of horse 5 (Top) and that of horse 3 (Bottom).

Fig. 7.

Photos showing new bone formation at the nuchal ligament attachment of horse 5 with a score of “3/2” (Top) and that of horse 7 with a score of “5” (Bottom).

Fig. 8.

(Top) Enamel/dentine exposure on the left lower second premolar of horse 7. (Bottom) Enamel/dentine exposure on the right lower second premolar of horse 3: occlusal bevel (arrow 1) and distinct black-colored shallow chip on the anterior surface of the tooth (arrow 2). See SI Appendix, Fig. S3 for a close-up of the shallow chips.