Horsepower

From the second millennium BCE two great worlds formed, traded and fought across Eurasia. From Mongolia to the European steppe great horse and herding cultures coalesced across thousands of kilometres of grassland. To the south, a string of states existed from Egypt to the Chinese Central Plains, some already ancient and others newly created. Interaction between these worlds was constant and profoundly formative for all parties, a fact we are only starting to fully appreciate. To examine the connections between the steppe, Mongolia and China’s Central Plains we will combine the latest scientific techniques in genetics and metallurgical analysis with theory concerning politics and power within and between China and its northern neighbours.

Three principal empirical elements underpin the project:

• ancient DNA from horses;
• the characterization of bronzes to throw light on their movement and recycling;
• the structure and contents of archaeological sites (mainly graves) in China, Mongolia and the steppe.

We will develop theory on the nature of leadership and power, particularly in mobile societies. Science will meet social science in a mutually informative manner and we will work across linguistic boundaries (Chinese, Mongolian, Russian, English) in a spirit of the co-production of knowledge with important partners including The Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum in China and Mongolian universities.

»Horsepower« consists of an international research team from Oxford University (Prof. Chris Gosden, Archaeology), CNRS Toulouse (Prof. Ludovic Orlando, Horse Genetics), the British Museum (Dr. Ruiliang Liu, Metallurgy) and the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie (PD Dr. Ursula Brosseder, Dr. Limin Huan, Dr. Yury Esin, Bayarkhuu Noost).

We will reflect on our working practices, engaging a broader public in how a complex research project works. An innovative artistic programme will engage a range of local communities, horse enthusiasts and local artists in the work and results of the project. Working together we will create a picture of this complex region impossible if we had worked alone.