KU Natural History Museum, A Wild Science Lecture: The Evolution of the Horse-Hu

Since the early Stone Age, horses have been important to human cultures. Once they were domesticated, over 6,000 years ago, horses achieved a wide range of roles related to transportation, work, warfare, wealth and status, spirituality, sports and more. The evidence turns up in various places including a 30,000 year-old hunting site in France, to the oldest horse-herders? village in Kazakhstan, to rock art in Saudi Arabia. Join Dr. Sandra Olsen for a fascinating look at the evolution of the horse and human relationship. This event is in celebration of the exhibit "The Horse", on view at the Museum of Prairiefire until January 24, 2016. Dr. Olsen is a zooarchaeologist who has focused much of her career on the investigation of horse domestication, directing excavations of Copper Age sites and doing research in Kazakhstan. In recent years, she has turned to advanced imaging of petroglyphs in Saudi Arabia, with particular interest in the impact of climate change on the Arabian Peninsula.