Prehistoric – Page 2 – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

The First Horse …

Every horse in the world can be traced to a single mare that trotted the earth about 130,000 to 160,000 years ago, according to findings reported by Bloomberg News as published by US National Academy of Sciences.

The Cave Mare from "Eclipsed by Shadow" Ancestral Mother of All Horses Galloped 160,000 Years Ago

Today’s horses are descended from one ancestral mare according to findings reported by Bloomberg News as published by US National Academy of Sciences.

Every horse in the world can be traced to a single mare that trotted the earth about 130,000 to 160,000 years ago, scientists discovered for the first time.

The research identified 18 different genetic clusters that arose from the ancestral mare, suggesting that domestication occurred in many places across Europe and Asia, according to work published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Academy’s proceedings did not immediately confirm whether the Ancestral Mare was the original Great Horse as detailed in the nearly-eponymous trilogy of same … or whether this discovery offers new proof of the story’s mysterious legend.
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Timeline of Horsemanship: Prehistory

>> see more Prehistoric Cave Horse images [Photobucket slideshow]

The earliest beginnings of mankind echo through artistry preserved on rock walls, giving silent testimony to the creative impulse inherent in mankind … and evidence that our fascination with the horse is older than history.

Eclipsed by Shadow excerpt from “Prey” (20,000 BC)

What if the dream—Meagan sat up quickly and stared at her surroundings. She was still in her nightgown, perched on a rocky cliff over an expanse of prairie grassland. An empty landscape spread before her, basking in late afternoon sun. This is strange, Meagan thought, swallowing. Solid rock walls rose on either side of her, marbled with green moss and snaking black fissures. Nothing manmade was in sight… >> read more | see all Excerpts

Eclipsed by Shadow is the 1st book of ‘The Legend of the Great Horse‘ trilogy, an award-winning adventure through history — on horseback!

Related Writing by John Allen Royce, Jr.

» “On the Rocks” – the Horse in Cave Art

» Little Horse on the Prairie

» Man and the Prehistoric Horse

» How to Hunt a Horse

» Cave Art vs. Franz Marc paintings

» Leaving the Prehistoric World Behind

Relevant Links

» The Cave of Chauvet Official site with interactive map

» The Lascaux Caves Metropolitan Museum of Art

» Lascaux Cave French Ministry of Culture site (3-D Map)

Historical Notes: Leaving the Prehistoric world behind …

In Eclipsed by Shadow, the first book of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy, young Meagan Roberts takes the ride on a prehistoric wild horse … that’s just how things were between horses and humans 20,000 years ago.

In Eclipsed by Shadow, the first book of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy, young Meagan Roberts takes the ride on a prehistoric wild horse. (excerpt of the scene)

According to fossilized bones and cave paintings, that’s just how things were between horses and humans 20,000 years ago.

Our clear understanding of the distant past remains shrouded by the passage of time, but there are two important facts we can know about prehistoric horses:

1) Horses have always been with us. Early man spent many thousands of years watching, stalking, hunting … and painting horses. The horse has been part of humanity’s story since the very beginning.

2) It took thousands of years for primitive humans to even begin to learn to use horses to assist in work. Man’s journey from the caves required a change in attitude to seek forms of cooperation, away from seeing horses as only a form of prey. This new outlook took an amazingly long time to happen, especially considering that it was so tangibly rewarded by a horse’s willingness to share his strength with mankind.

Perhaps we can’t know details about how mankind’s attitude toward horses shifted from meal to tamed beast — but the change is a case of old ways of thinking being replaced by new and better ideas. In this way, horsemanship is a living demonstration that cooperation brings new possibilities to human life and can open entire new worlds.
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Copyright © 2010 John Allen Royce, Jr.

#39- The End of “Prey”

The spooked horses stampeded into the deadly corridor. The gray mare swung with the herd as Meagan grabbed mane and fought to stay mounted. Packed bodies crushed against her and she was carried with the torrent. Walls of rock blurred as the band plunged down the canyon… – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)

Meagan wanted to believe the dark men tightening their circle were anything but what they seemed, anything but primitives on a well-scripted hunt…

The spooked horses stampeded into the deadly corridor. The gray mare swung with the herd as Meagan grabbed mane and fought to stay mounted. Packed bodies crushed against her and she was carried with the torrent.

Walls of rock blurred as the band plunged down the canyon. The close-running herd squeezed against her legs, threatening to pull her into the flashing hooves. There was no way to stop and a fall would mean a trampled death. The corridor curved ahead, and Meagan felt the ground begin to slope. The left wall vanished as the first shrill screams tore the air.

“PROMISE!”

The gray mare collided into the horse in front and scrambled to remain upright. Meagan buried her face into her mount’s neck, closing her eyes for the impact from behind. She fell into the rolling mass, holding the gray tightly as they were torn from the earth.