Earliest 'true' saddle in east Asia discovered
Earliest 'true' saddle in east Asia discovered
Archaeologists have used radiocarbon dating to analyze the oldest true wooden frame saddle in East Asia, revealing how the rise of Mongolian steppe cultures was likely aided by advances in equestrian technology.
I wondered what the heck a "true" saddle was supposed to be, but it looks like they roughly defined it as a treed (wooden frame) saddle with stirrups attached.
I can't seem to parse whether the tree came before the stirrup -- it's implied but not stated -- but it looks like a single mounting stirrup was invented before paired riding stirrups. I've seen a Native American (Cherokee? IIRC dated about Removal Time) saddle that was basically just a tree, presumably used with blankets above and beneath for comfort, without any indication of rings for girth or stirrup attachment, but that doesn't rule out looping them through the gap between the tree bars (where the spine floats underneath).
It was/is a trend within the last decade or so to use a treeless saddle for more "natural" horsemanship (whatever that means), and I'm sitting here wondering what that means for stirrup attachment. Layered on top of the girth, I hope, for stability. Gonna go fall down the google-hole.
In the interest of horse-girl infodumping, I recall seeing some at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK, and luckily they have some pics for their online collection, thank you Gilcrease.
This one is the one I remembered offhand, with a high pommel and cantle (turns out it's not Cherokee): https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/84987
Here's one that used antler for the pommel and cantle, which I thought was neat: https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/84984
This one actually has stirrups, looks like the girth attachments are more sophicated than my Dunning-Kruger ass imagined, but the stirrup leathers are, in fact, looped over each of the wooden bars: https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/84985