Domestication of the Horse in the Central Asian Steppes in the Light of Archaeological Sources

Yıl 2024, Sayı: 63, 353 - 373

Serdar Özbilen

https://doi.org/10.21563/sutad.1297950

Öz

The horse, which has provided great changes and transformations in the history of humanity, still continues today. The importance of this animal, which has been common to our past history for thousands of years, is one of the subjects worth researching. The horse, which was initially used for food production, has also been used for horse riding in time. And by shortening the distances between societies, it accelerated intercultural interactions. In the following process, it was used for traction and war purposes. However, in the light of all these developments, the issue of exactly where and when the horse was domesticated has still not been clarified. Here, we will look at the theories in question in the light of archaeological sources related to the domestication of the horse and touch on the place of the horse in the agency of human history. We will also take a look at examples of the Near East that represent the horse's final stage in imperial cultures. The aim of our study is to understand the connection of the horse with our past and to prepare the ground for the studies to be carried out in this direction. This study is based on the data obtained by literature review with qualitative methods. In the analysis of the data, an evaluation was made about the grassland ecology, which varies according to geographical conditions, in the domestication of the horse and the role of humans in this ecosystem. The main method of our study will be in the form of interpretation of archaeological sources and written/visual documents.
K

Anahtar Kelimeler

horse, Botai, Mesopotamia, domestication, Neo-Assyria.

Arkeolojik Kaynaklar Işığında Orta Asya Bozkırlarında At’ın Evcilleştirilmesi

Öz

İnsanlık tarihinde büyük değişim ve dönüşümleri sağlayan atın kullanım alanı günümüzde hâlen devam etmektedir. Binlerce yıldır geçmiş tarihimize ortak olan bu hayvanın önemi, araştırmaya değer konulardan birisidir. Başlangıçta besin üretimi için kullanılan at zamanla binicilik amacıyla da kullanılmaya başlanmıştır. Ve toplumlar arasındaki mesafeleri kısaltarak kültürlerarası etkileşimlerin hızlanmasını sağlamıştır. İlerleyen süreçte ise çekiş ve savaş amacıyla kullanılmıştır. Ancak tüm bu gelişmelerin ışığında atın tam olarak nerede ve ne zaman evcilleştirildiği konusu hâlen açıklığa kavuşturulamamıştır. Burada atın evcilleştirilmesiyle ilgili arkeolojik kaynaklar ışığında söz konusu teorilere göz atarak atın insanlık tarihinin failliğindeki yerine değineceğiz. Ayrıca atın imparatorluk kültürlerindeki son aşamasını temsil eden Yakın Doğu örneklerine de göz atacağız. Çalışmamızın amacı atın geçmişimizle olan bağını anlayıp bu doğrultuda yapılacak olan çalışmalara bir nebze de olsa zemin hazırlayabilmektir. Çalışmamızın ana yöntemi ise arkeolojik kaynaklar ve yazılı/görsel belgelerin yorumlanması şeklinde olacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

At, Botai, Mezopotamya, Evcilleştirme, Yeni Asur

Kaynakça

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