Forntidshästen och nutidsmänniskan - en studie om relationen mellan den arkeologiska hästen och människan idag

Abstract

Horse and man have a long and complicated relationship in Scandinavia starting with wild horse-hunting to modern days riding and competing. Considering or with an eye to the manifold archaeological evidence for horses and for representations of horses in material culture from prehistoric Scandinavia, from the stone Age to the Viking period. This study aims to highlight the mutual cultural heritage horse and man share and if and how it affects equestrians and horsemanship in modern times. In order to do so a qualitative (interviews to museums staff) and a quantitative (questionnaire to horse interested people) investigations was carried out. Respondents were asked whether they had knowledge about horse and man's joint history and asked to assess their own level of awareness on the subject. The study shows that among people interested in horses there is a great interest towards knowing more about the early history of the human-horse relation. Museums on the other hand do show material, but do not seem to prioritize the topic. All in all this essay shows that there is potential for further studies and also further development in making the cultural heritage of horse and man available to the public. This can be done by merging platforms to increase the exchange of knowledge between equestrians and the museums and in this way benefit both parties.