172 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[August, 1904. 



Such Neolithic ariid Paleolithic horses were evi- 

 dently \evy closely allied tO' the tarpan, or wild or semi- 

 wild horses, which a century agO' abounded on the plains 

 of Southern Russia; a neai-jy allied type still apparently 

 surxiving in the form of the wild ponies — the so-called 



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Fig. I.— Horses sketched by the Cave = dweUers of La Madelaine. 



Przewaiski's horse — of the borders of tlie Gobi desert, 

 which seem tO' be, at most, nothing" more than a local 

 wild or liaJf-wild race of the domesticated horse. In 

 these animals the mane is upright or slightly falling 

 over at the summit, the tail is tliin and scantily haired 

 at the base, while the head is heavy and ass-like, and the 

 limbs are short. In cofour the Aloiigoliaii ponies are 

 dun, with dark brown, manes, tails, and legs, 

 and frequently with the muzzle whitish; but the tarpan 

 seems toi liave been a moiuse-coloiured animal. Probably 

 the prehistoric horse was very similar in. colour to- one 

 or other of the twO'. 



Although most of the sketches ol tlie contem- 

 poraneous horse left by primitive man indicate animals 

 of the type referred tO' above, it should be mentioned 

 that a few of these sketches show a somewhat different 

 lorm; and from, this fact it has been suggested by some 

 writers — amoing them Professor K. Munro,* O'f Edin- 

 burgh, whoi has lately written on this subject — ^Lhat two 

 distinct forms of ancient wild horse are recognisable in 

 Western Europe, the one having a smsdler head and 

 longer limbs than the othei'. In some instances we must 

 probaljly attribute tliese differences in the sketches o^f 

 the ancient horse to incapacity on the part of tlie artist; 

 and this for two reasons. In the first place, none of 

 the skulls of Neolithic and Pala^ofithic horses that 

 have come under my notice exhibit aiiiy differences of 

 the above nature; and, in the second place, judging from 

 what obtains among mammals at the present day, it 

 would be in the highest degree improbable that we 

 sluHild have two closely allied species of true horse 

 mhabiting the same locality contemporaneously. If, 

 Dfi the other hand, we credit the artist with having given 

 correct portraits of two distinct types of true horse, 

 then it is practically certain that the animals he por- 

 trayed were domesticated. It should be mentioned, 

 however, that a sketch from, the Resslerloch Cave, 

 Switzerland, which has been taken tO' represent a second 

 species of true horse, is probably intended for the wild 

 ass. 



The question as to whether the horse was or was not 

 (idnicsticated by the PaheoJithic and Neolithic hunters 

 of Western Europe is one very difficult to answer. 

 From the abundance of its remains in the neighbour- 

 hood of stations occupied by contemporary man, it 

 seems well-nigh certain that during thel periods in 

 question the horse formed an important article of food; 

 and it has been a natural inference that the animal was 

 kept in a domesticated state by the primitive himter, as 

 well as pursued for the sake of its flesh. Sir William 

 I'lovver, for instance, wrote as folloiws :— 



" These horses were domesticated by the inhabitants 

 of Europe before the dawn of history. Caesar found 

 the ancient Britons and Germans using wax-chariots 

 drawn by horses." 



This view Professor iMunro, in the article already 

 cited, refuses tO' accept; his opinion being that the horse 

 was never domesticated by the Pala;ofithic and Neo- 

 lithic hunters of Western Europe. This opinion is 

 largely based on the rarity of the remains of this animal 

 in English " barrows," or tumuli, as well as in the 

 waste-heaps of the ancient Swiss lake-dwellers. It is 

 also urged tliat the absence of portraits of mounted 

 men among the sketches left us by the cave-dwellers 

 points to the same conclusion. 



To the latter objection I do not think much import- 

 ance can be attached. The rarity of horse-remains in 

 the tumuli, etc., may be fully admitted as an undoubted 

 fact ; but since horses, at least on the Continent, seem 

 tO' have been used for food at this period, the absence of 

 their bones is, perhaps, just as remarkable whether 

 they were known only in the wild state, or in botli the 

 wild and domesticated condition. Here it may be re- 

 marked that in " Prehistoric Times," Lord Avebury 

 observes " tliat the horse was very rare, if not alto- 

 gether unknown, in England during the Stone age." 

 This, I take it, applies onlv toi the domesticated breed, 

 since it is quite certain: that the animal existed in a wild 

 .state in Britain at this time. Nevertheless, the sentence 

 is apt to be somewhat misleading, and it is for this 

 reason that it is quoted. 



An argument in favour of the domestication of the 

 horse in Western, Europe has been drawn, from certain 

 sketches fonnd in Continental caves, which have been 

 supposed to represent this animal bitted and bridled. 

 As to the value of this evidence, I do' not feel competent 

 to offer an opinion, but I doufit if it can be dismissed 

 by the suggestion (of Professor Munro) that these 

 sketches may depict wild horses being led in halters or 

 lassoes to the home of their captors for slaughter as 

 food. If they be bridled horses at all, I think there 

 cannot be much donbt that they were domesticated. 

 My opinion with regard to- the supposed two' types of 



* " On the Prehistoric Horses of Europe, and their Supposed 

 Domestication in Palseolitliic Times." Proc. R Phys. Soc. 



Edinb., 1903, pp. 70-104, pi. i. 





Fig. 2.— Hog-maned Horse from a Grecian sculpture. 



horses represented in other sketches has been, already 

 expressed. 



Another important point in this inquiry is how we 

 are to account for the origin of the domesticated horses 

 possessed by the ancient Britons and Germans in 



