Rethinking the Origins of Horse Domestication & Its Impact on the Ancient World

Rethinking the Origins of Horse Domestication & Its Impact on the Ancient World presented by Dr. William T. Taylor Assistant Professor & Curator

The domestication of the horse is widely understood as one of the most significant events in human history, with horse transport linked to drastic changes in ecology, communication, culture, ceremony, and even the very structure of societies across the ancient world. But how did this transformative relationship between people and horses first emerge? New discoveries from archaeological sciences are overturning long-held assumptions about the timing and process of the first domestication, revealing a process that was far more rapid – and far more disruptive – than previously understood.

Dr. William T. Taylor is the author of Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History and an Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. His work explores the domestication of the horse and the ancient relationships between people and animals through archaeozoology and archaeological science. Taylor received his PhD with distinction from the University of New Mexico. His scholarship has been published in top-tier scientific journals and has been funded by international granting agencies, including National Geographic and National Science Foundation. Taylor’s research was awarded the Popejoy Prize from the University of New Mexico and his collaborative work with LIU scientists received the 2024 Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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