The Horse in Human History

The Horse in Human History

The horse is surely the "aristocrat" of animals domesticated by man. This book documents the origins of horse domestication on the Pontic-Caspian steppes some 6,000 years ago and the consequent migration of equestrian tribes across Eurasia to the borders of sedentary states. Horse-chariotry and cavalry in effect changed the nature of warfare in the civilizations of the Middle East, India, and China. But, beyond the battlefield, horsepower also afforded great advances in transport, agriculture, industry, and science. Rapidity of horse communications forged far-flung equestrian empires, where language, law, weights, measures, and writing systems were standardized and revolutionary technologies and ideas were disseminated across continents. Always recognizing this dual character of horsepower - both destructive and constructive - the politico-military and economic importance of the horse is discussed in the rise of Hittite, Achaemenid, Chinese, Greco-Roman, Arab, Mongol, and Turkic states. Following Columbian contact, Old and New World cultures are contrastively evaluated in terms of presence or absence of the horse. And Spanish conquest of the horseless Americas is seen as the model for subsequent European equestrian colonization of horseless territories around the planet.

Country	USA
Author	Pita Kelekna
Binding	Paperback
Brand	Brand: Cambridge University Press
EAN	9780521736299
Edition	1
Feature	Used Book in Good Condition
ISBN	0521736293
IsEligibleForTradeIn	1
Label	Cambridge University Press
Manufacturer	Cambridge University Press
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	478
PublicationDate	2009-04-13
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
ReleaseDate	2009-06-11
SKU	NEW-COMMON-58211
Studio	Cambridge University Press

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