Friday, June 7, 2024

The cart before the horse

Horses were domesticated around 3000 BC; the Yamnaya invaded Europe around the same time. Today we are relearning the limits of circumstantial evidence; this blog recorded hints of the present study, three years ago.

To repeat: the first domesticate horses were of the Botai. These were not the horses which the Yamnaya and, then, R1a-'ryans would use out East. This means that the Yamnaya migrations didn't use horses, as Botai might. Horses came to the post-Yamnaya Europe, later: the 2200s BC. And to Anatolia later.

The pedestrian Yamnaya invasion still must be explained. A culture able to traverse the distance beyond local clan, I think. Even without horses and chariots, the humble cart - handdrawn - could scale up commerce and migration. Also: how about donkeys and oxen?

Anyway as B. Breathed noted of "having your cake and eating it", "cart before the horse" needs to be retired as a dead cliché.

JOSTLE 9/23: Yamnaya had cart-bruises. But - they point out as I'd pointed out - you can cart with cattle, donkeys and even wild asses.

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