The origins of saddles and riding technology in East Asia: discoveries from the Mongolian Altai
Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan, Tsagaan Turbat, Chinbold Bayandelger, Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal, Wang Juan, Igor V. Chechushkov, Manabu Uetsuki, Naoto Isahaya, Mark Hudson, Noriyuki Shiraishi, Yue Li, Chengrui Zhang, Eregzen Gelegdorj, Gino Caspari, Paula López‐Calle, Joshua L. Conver, Gaétan Tressières, Loreleï Chauvey, Julie Birgel, Nasan-Ochir Erdene-Ochir, Jan Bemmann, Gregory Hodgins, Kristine Korzow Richter, Ludovic Orlando, Christina Warinner, William Taylor
Abstract
Innovations in horse equipment during the early Middle Ages provided advantages to societies from the steppes, reshaping the social landscape of Eurasia. Comparatively little is known about the precise origin of these crucial advances, although the available evidence points to early adoption in East Asia. The authors present new archaeological discoveries from western and northern Mongolia, dating to the fourth and fifth centuries AD, including a wooden frame saddle with horse hide components from Urd Ulaan Uneet and an iron stirrup from Khukh Nuur. Together, these finds suggest that Mongolian groups were early adopters of stirrups and saddles, facilitating the expansion of nomadic hegemony across Eurasia and shaping the conduct of medieval mounted warfare.