biology

History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent

History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent rather than just read about it. In short: The horse has been present in the Indian subcontinent from at least the middle of the second millennium BC, more than two millennia after its domestication in Central Asia. The earliest uncontroversial evidence of horse remains on the Indian Subcontinent date to the early Swat culture (around 1600 BCE).

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Reference excerpt

The horse has been present in the Indian subcontinent from at least the middle of the second millennium BC, more than two millennia after its domestication in Central Asia. The earliest uncontroversial evidence of horse remains on the Indian Subcontinent date to the early Swat culture (around 1600 BCE). While horse remains and related artifacts have been found in Late Harappan (1900-1300 BCE) sites, indicating that horses may have been present at Late Harappan times, horses did not play an essential role in the Harappan civilisation, in contrast to the Vedic period (1500-500 BCE). The importance of the horse for the Indo-Aryans is indicated by the Sanskrit word Ashva, "horse," which is often mentioned in the Vedas and Hindu scriptures.

Paleolithic During the Late Pleistocene, a species of equine, Equus namadicus, was native to the subcontinent, but it was extinct by the start of the Holocene. Equus namadicus is considered a "stenonine horse", meaning that it is probably more closely related to zebras and asses than to true horses.

Domestication

Domestication of the horse before the second millennium BC appears to be confined to its native habitat, the Great Steppe. There is increasing evidence that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes around 3500 BC. Recent discoveries in the context of the Botai culture suggest that Botai settlements in the Akmola Province of Kazakhstan are the location of the earliest domestication of the horse. Use of horses spread across Eurasia for transportation, agricultural work, and warfare. The horse only appears in Mesopotamia from around 1800 BC as a ridden animal and acquires military significance with the invention of the chariot.

Indus Valley Civilisation Proponents of Indigenous Aryanism believe that the Indus Valley Civilisation was Aryan and Vedic. There are two common objections against such a correlation: "the Rg Vedic culture was pastoral and horse-centered, while the Harappan culture was neither horse-centered nor pastoral"; and "the complete absence of the modern horse (equus caballus)." Support for the idea of an indigenous Indo-Aryan origin of the Indus Valley Civilisation mostly exists among Indian scholars of Hindu religion and the history and archaeology of India, and has no support in mainstream scholarship. The paucity of horse remains in pre-Vedic times could be explained by India's climatic factors which lead to decay of horse bones. Horse bones may also be rare because horses were probably not eaten or used in burials by the Harappans. Remains and artifacts ascribed to domesticated horses are limited to Late Harappan times indicating that horses may have been present at Late Harappan times, "when the Vedic people had settled in the north-west part of the subcontinent." It can therefore not be concluded that the horse was regularly used, or played a significant role, in the Harappan society. Horse remains from the Harappan site Surkotada (dated to 2400-1700 BC) have been identified by A.K. Sharma as Equus ferus caballus. The horse specialist Sandor Bökönyi (1997) later confirmed these conclusions, and stated the excavated tooth specimens could "in all probability be considered remnants of true horses [i.e. Equus ferus caballus]". Bökönyi, as cited by B. B. Lal, stated that "The occurrence of true horse (Equus caballus L.) was evidenced by the enamel pattern of the upper and lower cheek and teeth and by the size and form of incisors and phalanges (toe bones)." However, archaeologists like Meadow (1997) disagree, on the grounds that the remains of the Equus ferus caballus horse are difficult to distinguish from other equid species such as Equus asinus (donkeys) or Equus hemionus (onagers). Colin Renfrew (1999) remarked that "the significance of the horse [...] has been much exaggerated."

Vedic period

Sites such as the BMAC complex are at least as poor in horse remains as the Harappan sites. The earliest undisputed finds of horse remains in South Asia are from the Gandhara grave culture, also known as the Swat culture (c. 1400–800 BCE), related to the Indo-Aryans and coinciding with their arrival in India. Swat valley grave DNA analysis provides evidence of "connections between [Central Asian] Steppe population and early Vedic culture in India". Horses were important in the lifestyle of the Indo-Europeans. Ashva, a Sanskrit word for a horse, is one of the significant animals referred to in the Vedas and several other Hindu scriptures, and many personal names in the Rigveda are also centered on horses. Derived from asva, its cognates are found in Indo-European languages like Sanskrit, Avestan, Latin and Greek (such as hippos and equus). There are repeated references to the horse in the Vedas (c. 1500–500 BCE). In particular, the Rigveda has many equestrian scenes, often associated with chariots. The Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice is a notable ritual of the Yajurveda. As horses were difficult to breed in the Indian climate, they were imported in large numbers, usually from Central Asia, but also from elsewhere. Horse traders are already mentioned in Atharvaveda 2.30.29. A painting at Ajanta shows horses and elephants that are transported by ship. Trautmann (1982) thus remarked that the supply and import of horses has "always" been a preoccupation of the Indians, and "it is a structure of its history, then, that India has always been dependent upon western and central Asia for horses."

See also Ashvamedha Ashvins Early Indians Domestication of the horse Horses in East Asian warfare

Notes

References

Sources Printed sources

Web-sources

Further reading Sandor Bököni (1997). "Horse Remains from the Prehistoric Site of Surkotada, Kutch, Late 3rd Millennium BC". South Asian Archaeology. 13: 297–307. Dallapiccola, Anna (26 November 2002). Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. National Geographic Books. ISBN 0-500-51088-1. Kak, Subhash (2004). The Aśvamedha: The rite and its logic. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1877-4.

External links

The Asvamedha Horse of India From Harappan horse to camel, R. Nagaswamy in The Hindu

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent

In research: History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Horse history and evolution, Horses in India, Social history of India, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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