Western interpretation of Indigenous history proven wrong through genomics. Indigenous Peoples in the Great Plains and northern Rockies had contact with horses earlier than expected.
Figure 1. Explanation of the Lakota relationship with the horse in the Lakota language with the closest English translation possible. Tanka Omniya (Robert Milo Yellow Hair), personal communication 2022.1
Disclaimer: this web page was produced as an assignment for an undergraduate course at Davidson College.
The above quote is provided in the best possible English translation and refers to the Lakota peoples’ special relationship with their horses. Stop for a second and feel the emotion contained within the quote. Imagine a world in which you share relationships and stories with horses the way that the Lakota people do. Now imagine if history wrongly recorded those relationships, unfortunately, the Lakota people do not have to imagine.
Often overlooked, Indigenous knowledge can provide insights that aid or usurp Western history and science. A recent study, led by William Taylor and consisting of several indigenous researchers, found genomic (relating to an organism’s genes) and radiocarbon evidence that domestic horses were present in the Great Plains and northern Rockies earlier than believed.2 It is speculated that horses originated in North America before disappearing from it by the early Holocene.3 Most Western scholars suspect that horses were reintroduced by Spanish settlers in the late 15th century CE and reached Indigenous groups after Spanish colonization of the American Southwest. 3 In fact, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was determined to be the event responsible for the distribution of horses from the American Southwest to Indigenous tribes. 3 With these notions in mind, Taylor et. al set out to explore DNA and stable isotope data of early horse specimens.
As part of their assessment of horse specimens, researchers conducted radiocarbon dating (a process that involves measuring the decay of a radioactive isotope in order to estimate a specimen’s age), in addition to genetically characterizing them. In order to genetically characterize the early North American horses (post initial extinction), researchers extracted ancient DNA, from archaeological samples, and modern DNA, from horses all over the world. By taking samples of ancient and modern DNA, they could compare bloodlines to determine which populations have similar genomes. Among their specimens, were three North American horses found in Indigenous contexts that all predated the Pueblo Revolt. Further radiocarbon modeling indicated that Indigenous groups may have adopted horses between 1516 and 1599 CE. Genetic analysis of around 30 horse specimens indicates that early North American horses showed little genetic relation to Late Pleistocene North American horses, but rather to horses with Spanish bloodlines. Researchers came to this conclusion by observing early and modern North American horses with Y-chromosomal haplotypes belonging to the most recent common ancestor of extant horses. In other words, there were portions of male horses’ chromosomes that were conserved from the earliest specimens, to the most recent. Additionally, specimens’ mitochondrial DNA (DNA that is passed down from maternal parent to offspring) indicated that they did not descend from Late Pleistocene horses. Physical inspection of archaeological remains provided further evidence that horses were present in Indigenous communities pre-Pueblo Revolt. More specifically, researchers identified entheseal ossification of the nuchal ligament (bone tissue development on the ligament responsible for lifting the neck) in a foal from Wyoming near the first half of the 17th century. This sort of ossification is commonly found in horses that have been utilized for transport or kept confined. Moreover, it was recovered in a ritualistic setting, indicating that horses had been present long enough to be incorporated into rituals by the first half of the 17th century. Taken altogether, these findings further proved that horses were part of Indigenous cultures well before the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, in addition to establishing that the early North American horse specimens in this study did not experience gene flow from the Late Pleistocene, rather they descended from Spanish lineages.
While these findings were monumental in helping to correct a small portion of Indigenous history, perhaps more can be done. Yvette Running Horse Collin, an author on this project, has done prior research indicating that: Indigenous peoples claimed horses were present in the Americas prior to the arrival of the Spanish; early explorers of America noted herds of horses; there is no scientific proof that horses went extinct in the Late Pleistocene and there is genetic proof that Equus (genus of horses) were present in the Americas during the claimed extinction period.4 Despite researchers finding no genetic basis for North American horses descending from the Late Pleistocene, there is still reason for further research. If Taylor et. al teaches us anything, it is that Indigenous knowledge should not be overlooked.
References
- Hunska Tašunke Icu (Joseph American Horse) et al., M. Standing for Unči Maka (Grandmother Earth) and All Life: An Introduction to Lakota Traditional Sciences, Principles, and Protocols and the Birth of a New Era of Scientific Collaboration. 42,. Article
- Taylor, W. T. T. et al. Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies. Science 379, 1316–1323 (2023). Article
- Mitchell, P. Horse Nations: The Worldwide Impact of the Horse on Indigenous Societies Post-1492. (Oxford University Press, Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM, 2015). Article
- Collin, Y. R. H. The relationship between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the horse: deconstructing a Eurocentric myth. (2017). Article
Author information:
Josh Merva – jomerva@davidson.edu
Davidson College Class of 2025
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Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28036
I love the active engagement of the reader in the beginning of the article tied the the reader to the cultural context for why a people’s traditions and history are vital in deciphering history, even if contrary to mainstream historical records. This study wonderfully proved how accepted misconceptions had to be corrected in light of genomic sequencing of ancient horse DNA. I find it fascinating that although North American Pleistocene ancestry was not found in the 15th century CE horses, horses were found to be of European descent prior to the arrival of the Spanish, which was previously suspected to have been the introduction of domesticated horses in Indigenous populations. The author’s final note regarding the importance of Indigenous knowledge truly highlights the importance of oral and cultural tradition in deciphering history using all available pieces of knowledge.