Actually Dale is right, there is a gap in the archaeological/paleontological
record for horses. They were hunted in the palaeolithic but during the last
iceage/shortly afterwards they became extinct and were reintroduced by man
during the neolithic. Hence there are no truly indigenous horses in Britain.
If you want more information on this Robin Bendry is the person to ask.
The primitive characteristics of the exmoor particularly are a regression to
a particular phenotype as a response to their feral climatic conditions and
as result of populaton restriction. None of the British native breeds can
trace their ancestry back more than 150-200 years when stud books were
established. Prior to that crossbreeding to produce what you needed was very
much the norm and therefore although Exmoors may be very similar in size and
shape to, for instance, Iron Age horses of Britain, there is no evidence to
suggest that they are anything more than vaguely descended from them.
I have produced some statistics on the size and limb robusticity of Iron Age
and onwards horses in Britain, all based on the archaeological remains,
which I can dig out if wanted. I have done quite a lot of detailed
reconstruction of size and shape of Roman equids throughout the empire
including Britain in my PhD thesis which is available to download (although
a few tables have gone awry in the process of making the pdfs!) from my york
university webpage. My artistic skills are not up to drawing them but the
sizes are there for people to make there own drawings!
Regards
Cluny Johnstone
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 7:16 PM
Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] Reconstruction of horses
> Dale, Exmoor ponies were not "brought" to Britain; they are indigenous to
> Britain, along with Shetlands, and they were there long before mankind
> figured out to bring equines into domestication. These animals are, in
> broader zoogeographical terms, island isolates. Crossbreeding, beginning
> with the importation to the British Isles of horses of Afro-Turkic
> extraction about 3100 years ago, has created over time the whole array of
> "typically" British and Irish breeds, i.e. Welsh, Dartmoor, Connemara,
> Galwey, etc., and most important of all, Hobby. Please have a look at the
> material I recommended in the other memo sent in response to Jessica's
> inquiry -- just a suggestion. -- Deb Bennett
>
>> Hi Jessica,
>> I usually use a photograph of an Exmoor pony. I believe they are supposed
>> to be closest to the original horses brought to Britain. Certainly, they
>> are about the right size, and the colouration, mane and tail are also
>> fairly primitive looking.
>>
>> Best wishes
>> Dale
>>
>> Dale Serjeantson
>> Archaeology
>> School of Humanities
>> University of Southampton
>> Southampton SO17 1BJ
>> UK
>> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites
>> [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jessica Grimm
>> [[log in to unmask]]
>> Sent: 21 July 2008 12:09
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [ZOOARCH] Reconstruction of horses
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Our drawing office is currently having a go at reconstructing domestic
>> animals for educational use… And they are a bit frustrated that I can’t
>> tell them what a bronze age, an iron age, a roman etc. horse exactly
>> looked like. Is there any literature on actually trying to reconstruct
>> their shape in the different periods in Britain? I would normally not go
>> there as I usually only find a few horse remains per excavation.
>>
>> Any help greatly appreciated!
>>
>> Jessica
>>
>> ____________________________
>> Jessica Grimm MA AIFA
>> Zooarchaeologist
>>
>> Wessex Archaeology Ltd
>> Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wilts. SP4 6EB
>>
>> Tel No:- +44 (0)1722 326867
>> Fax No:- +44 (0)1722 337562
>> Website: www.wessexarch.co.uk<UrlBlockedError.aspx>
>>
>> P Before printing, think about the environment
>>
>>
>> Wessex Archaeology Ltd is a company limited by guarantee registered in
>> England & Wales, number 1712772.
>>
>> A registered charity, number 287786, and is registered as an
>> archaeological organisation with the Institute of Field Archaeologists.
>>
>> Registered Office Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire,
>> SP4
>> 6EB.
>>
>>
>>
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