Patagonian people were riding horses long before Europeans arrived.

A recent study published in Science Advances reveals that horses were reintroduced to the Patagonian region of South America by Indigenous people within a century of their release by a failed Spanish colony in Buenos Aires. The researchers used radiocarbon dating and chemical analysis of horse bones and teeth to determine that the animals were being kept and eaten by the Indigenous people in the 1700s, a century before the first historical records of horses in Patagonia. The study also highlights the profound impact of the horse on Patagonian societies, including increased hunting range, improved transportation, and expanded cultural practices. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how European practices and technology influenced different parts of the Americas. [Extracted from the article]