The origin of the true chariot

Abstract

New dates and new finds give cause to look again at that central issue in later European prehistory — the origin of wheeled light vehicles of battle.

From the Eurasian Steppes to the Roman Circuses: A Review of Early Development of Horse Breeding and Management

“…Subsequently, the oxen were replaced with equids-firstly donkeys or ass-onager hybrids [35], then horses. The invention of spoked-wheel light chariots c. 4000-3800 BP was one of the ancient era's milestones, as it increased the speed of traveling through steppes from two to ten miles per hour [43] and laid the foundation for their further military use [44].…”

Chariots in the Eurasian Steppe: a Bayesian approach to the emergence of horse-drawn transport in the early second millennium BC

“…Despite the considerable increase in archaeological and absolute chronological data concerning the development of early horse-drawn chariots in the Central Eurasian Steppe region, the heated debate about the chariots’ place of origin, their diffusion or even the presence of evidence for the technological capability to build functioning chariots in the Eastern European Middle Bronze Age is ongoing. The key question remains as to whether this innovation derived directly from older Mesopotamian traditions, first with wagons on solid disc wheels in the early third millennium BC and then complemented by cross-bar wheels in the late third millennium BC (Littauer & Crouwel 1996). Third-millennium BC iconographic sources from the Near East depict two- or four-wheeled wagons in military contexts.…”

“…To date, the bulk of research concerning the evolution of light and fast vehicles has concentrated on the ancient Near East (e.g. Littauer & Crouwel 1979, 1996). This article uses radiocarbon-dating models of burial contexts to demonstrate the importance of looking to the region farther north in order to understand the wider context of these technological developments.…”

The Emergence of Chariots and Riding in the South Caucasus

“…It is well known that the emergence of battle chariots and cavalry not only promoted the art of war but also brought about considerable changes in the social structure of early societies. A question as to whether a rapid dispersion of chariots and riding was due to migrations or to an independent development in various centres has been the subject of much controversy (Grantovsky 1970, 159; Kuzmina 1977, 54–5, 1993, 1994a, 1994b, 165–71 with ample bibliography; Anthony 1995; Moorey 1986; Littauer and Crouwel 1996, etc.). In this connection the spread of horse husbandry in Transcaucasia, i.e.…”

“…On the other hand, there is no evidence of a direct linkage between Transcaucasian chariots and the ever‐growing number of their Eurasian counterparts of the early second millennium BC. Irrespective of whether the Sintashta vehicles were battle chariots (Kuzmina 2000; Nefedkin 2001, 60) or not (Littauer and Crouwel 1996), judging from the reconstruction, such traits as an especially high front panel, planks joining naves and sides of the front panel, etc. (Hening et al 1992, figs.…”