Arqueozoología del caballo en la antigua Iberia

Abstract

The horse is one of the species that greater controversies stir up since its process of domestication to the beginning of the different known uses. Although in this synthesis our aim is not to emphasize all the debates, we try to discuss some of the direct and indirect evidences as proof of horse domestication and husbandry and the difficulties and limitations that the archaeozoological studies affront with a generally scarce available faunal record, especially in the recent prehistoric times. Although the functionality of this species results in many cases problematic it is confirmed that in some sites there is a relevant consumption pattern, beside other uses as traction and riding. In some cases horse deposits are included in ritual or burial practises but these few evidences still contrast with the rich archaeological and overrepresented literary record in the Iberian Peninsula at the preroman times.