It has long been believed that Native American communities did not begin caring for these animals until the late 17th century.
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Horses may have ‘colonized’ North America during the first half of the 17th century, several decades before the arrival of the Spanish, according to a article published this Thursday in the journal Science.
European historical records from the colonial period typically say that Native American communities did not begin caring for these animals until following the Popé Rebellion, which took place in the present-day US state of New Mexico in 1680, in which the locals overthrew temporarily Spanish rule, freeing European cattle in the process.
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But now researchers from 15 countries and multiple Native American groups—including the Lakota, Comanche, and Pawnee nations—have turned to archaeozoology, radiocarbon dating, DNA sequencing, and other tools to figure out how and when the horses for the first time to various regions of what is now the United States.
It is not clear how they got there
Specifically, they examined the DNA of regarding 24 animal remains found at sites ranging from New Mexico to Kansas and Idaho. The results suggest that most of the indigenous horses were descended from Spanish and Iberian horses.
The text indicates that, at the moment, it is not clear how these types of animals reached that part of the continent, but they detail that it is likely that Europeans were not involved in their initial transport. They also ensure that the results coincide with a wide range of indigenous oral histories.
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“Focusing only on the historical record has underestimated the age and complexity of indigenous relationships with horses in a large swath of the American West,” explained William Taylor, head of archeology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and a co-author of the study.
For his part, Carlton Shield Chief Gove, a member of the Oklahoma Pawnee Nation and co-author of the research, said the team’s findings can help scholars understand the importance of these animals to the history of Native American peoples. If confirmed, this hypothesis would change the history of the continent.
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