Temporal and spatial patterns of domestic horse utilisation in northern China during the pre-Qin period

In China, it is a conclusive fact that domestic horses had already appeared by the Late Shang period. Regarding their utilisation by humans, osteological and pathological analyses have been carried out at multiple sites, but the spatial and temporal characteristics are still unclear, and the archaeological context of the horse bones can provide a perspective for examining this issue. In this study, we systematically collected archaeological and coexistence information of horse bones excavated in China from the Late Shang to the Warring States periods (1300–200 BCE), and sorted out the horse equipment coexisting with the bones, and the burial treatment of horses. Subsequently, we analysed this information in the context of the geographic environment and the human subsistence strategies in northern China. The analysis results showed that, due to the influence of geography, livelihood conditions, and social development, horses were mainly used for pulling chariots in the farming societies of the monsoon region during the pre-Qin period, and for riding in the nomadic societies of the arid region. The burial treatment of horses was mainly the whole-horse burial in the monsoon zone, and the partial-bone burial in the arid region.