Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Applied Archaeology

Department

Anthropology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Sosa Aguilar, Danny

Abstract

In this thesis, I analyzed the CA-SBr-2110 collection which contains a human and a horse skeleton. The collection was excavated in 1965 from Yermo, California and is currently housed at San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California. This research explores human-horse relationships in an archaeological context. The human skeleton was not analyzed in this research due to unknown cultural affiliation and sensitivity towards potential indigeneity. My research examines the horse remains within this collection and utilizes radiocarbon dating on three samples. Dating two samples from the horse provided approximate dates of 1829–1900 cal AD and 1798–1942 cal AD while dating one textile sample provided an approximate date of 1721–1814 cal AD. These dates assisted in determining a date for the human skeleton without performing any testing on them. Radiocarbon dating the horse skeleton contributed to understanding the human-horse dynamic and provided a more nuanced understanding of the site and general area’s history. The significance of this research stems from the uncertainty of the lives and subsequent deaths of the human and horse at CA-SBr-2110 as well as a need for reinterpretation of the collection utilizing decolonizing methodologies. Centering the horse asks not only what the horse did for the human, but also what the human did for the horse. My thesis poses pivotal research questions seeking to understand the human-horse relationship, gather insight into the identity of the human, establish a chronological framework for the collection, and re-interpret the site.

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