The Spirited Horse: Equid-Human Relations in the Bronze Age Near East

Description

Presenting a new perspective on human-animal relations in the ancient Near East, this volume considers how we should understand equids (horses, donkeys, onagers and various hybrids) as animals that are social actors. Recht brings together a wealth of new data, including Bronze Age Near Eastern material culture from a range of archaeological contexts with equid remains as well as iconography and texts. She looks in particular at finds of equids themselves from burials, sacred space and settlements alongside associated artefacts such as chariots and harnesses. This is the first time the agency of animals is recognized. The study is essential reading for prehistorians, archaeologists and those studying early animal domestication, showcasing how humans encounter and interact with other animals, and how those animals in turn interact with humans. Recht outlines the broader implications for human involvement with their environment, both today and in the past, and points to further study in a number of focused appendices.

Laerke Recht is Professor of Early Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Graz, Austria. She has published and researched on human animal relations, religion, ceramics, and archaeological theory, including as author of Human Sacrifice: Archaeological Perspectives from around the World (2019), and as co-editor of Animal Iconography in the Archaeological Record: New Approaches, New Dimensions (2021).

The Spirited Horse sheds new light on the lived experiences of past societies through their complex relationship with horses, donkeys, and other equids. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the essential role of non-human animals in the making of culture in the ancient world. -- Linda Evans, Associate Professor in History and Archaeology, Macquarie University, Australia