1,600-Year-Old Wooden Saddle Unearthed in Mongolia

New archaeological discoveries from Mongolia show that, despite a fragmentary archaeological record, horse cultures of the eastern Eurasian steppe were early adopters of frame saddles and stirrups, by at least the turn of the 5th century CE. The 1,600-year-old saddle discovered at Urd Ulaan Uneet is one of the earliest known examples of a wooden frame saddle, showing evidence of both local production and connections with earlier saddle traditions. Recent discoveries from Khukh Nuur suggest that stirrups were in use on the Mongolian steppe concurrently with their earliest appearance…