The World's Oldest Known Saddle, from China, c.727-396 BCE: this saddle was created more than 2,400 years ago, and it belonged to a woman in the Tian Shan mountains of China
This saddle was discovered at a site known as Yanghai, which is located along the eastern edge of the Turpan Basin in what is now China. Radiocarbon dating indicates that it was created between 727-396 BCE, making it the oldest horseback riding saddle ever discovered.
As this article explains:
Preserved by the region’s arid climate, the Yanghai saddle offers rich insights into early horse-riding technology and the society that created it. Its two wing-shaped hides, filled with a mixture of straw, deer hair, and camel hair, were sewn together along the outer edges and separated by a section without stuffing (known as the gullet), which eased the pressure on the horse’s spine.
The Yanghai saddle also shakes assumptions that horse-riding saddles were used solely by men for military purposes. “The discovery of this saddle inside the tomb of a woman suggests that women participated in the everyday activities of mounted pastoralists, which included herding and traveling,” says Patrick Wertmann of the University of Zurich.
Above: close-ups of the leather stitching and wear patterns along the edges of the saddle
Researchers argue that the saddle was likely crafted by a skilled specialist, and that it served a functional purpose:
Unlike the younger finds from elite Scythian burials, this early saddle was made from inexpensive materials and used by a common woman. Yet it is testimony to the same mastery of craftsmanship. Both the functional design considering the anatomy and well-being of horse and rider, and the fine execution of the crafting techniques, i.e. leather- and needlework, demonstrate that the Yanghai saddle was manufactured by a specialist familiar with leatherwork, horse husbandry, and riding.
The lack of elaborate decorative applications together with traces of wear and repair spots, some of which were executed in a simpler and cruder way, imply that the saddle was an every-day item maintained by the user.
The saddle is attributed to the Subeixi Culture, which flourished in northwestern China from roughly 1100 BCE to 100 CE.
Archaeological Research in Asia: The Earliest Directly Dated Saddle for Horse-Riding from a Mid-1st Millennium BCE Female Burial in Northwest China
National Geographic: Is this the World's Oldest Saddle?
Science News: The Oldest Known Horseback Riding Saddle was Found in a Grave in China
