World’s first horse riders lived 4,000–5,000 years ago near the Black Sea

Paper author and bioanthropologist Dr Martin Trautmann of the University of Helsinki said: “We studied over 217 skeletons from 39 sites of which about 150 found in the burial mounds belong to the Yamnayans.

“Diagnosing activity patterns in human skeletons cannot be done unambiguously. There are no singular traits that indicate a certain occupation or behaviour.

“Only in their combination, as a syndrome, symptoms provide reliable insights to understand habitual activities of the past.”

In their study, the researchers looked for six diagnostic indicators of riding activity on the human body, which they have dubbed “horsemanship syndrome”.

These included changes in the normally round shape of the hip sockets, the nature of muscle attachment sites on the pelvis and femur, and the diameter and form of the femur shaft.

The remaining three criteria involved degeneration of the vertebra caused by repeated vertical impacts, traumata resulting from falls, kicks or bites from horses, and imprint marks caused by the pressure of the so-called “acetabular rim” — the bowl-shaped socked on the pelvis — on the neck of the femur.

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1742331/worlds-first-horse-riders-skeletons-signs-black-sea-yamnaya-people