Die Ansicht um die wahre Natur der im Moorheidegebiet des Exmoors im Südwesten Englands frei lebenden Ponys pendelte in den letzten hundert Jahren mehrfach hin und her zwischen einer sehr ursprünglich gebliebenen Hauspferderasse und einem überlebenden Wildpferd. Für die Klärung dieses Problems entscheidend wichtige quantitative Verhaltensstudien zum Wild- oder Viehwesen dieser Pferde und paläontologische Vergleichsstudien fehlten weitgehend. Dieses Buch bringt nun die Lösung zugunsten einer Reliktpopulation des Europäischen Bergponys und weist damit das kaum für möglich gehaltene Fortleben eines bedeutenden britischen und gesamteuropäischen Naturerbes nach.

Die Ansicht um die wahre Natur der im Moorheidegebiet des Exmoors im Südwesten Englands frei lebenden Ponys pendelte in den letzten hundert Jahren mehrfach hin und her zwischen einer sehr ursprünglich gebliebenen Hauspferderasse und einem überlebenden Wildpferd. Für die Klärung dieses Problems entscheidend wichtige quantitative Verhaltensstudien zum Wild- oder Viehwesen dieser Pferde und paläontologische Vergleichsstudien fehlten weitgehend. Dieses Buch bringt nun die Lösung zugunsten einer Reliktpopulation des Europäischen Bergponys und weist damit das kaum für möglich gehaltene Fortleben eines bedeutenden britischen und gesamteuropäischen Naturerbes nach.

Humans have manipulated and changed the way of life of other mammals for thousands of years. This new edition of A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals explores the progress which has been made in understanding the origins of domestication and its spread, both biologically and culturally, across the world. The archaeological evidence for the earliest dating of domestication of each species is included, reflecting the recent expansion in such studies. Human history has been inexorably linked with the exploitation and often very cruel treatment of animals. In today's society attitudes to animal welfare have improved. It is now recognised that an understanding of the ecology and behavioural patterns of wild species is necessary in ensuring the well-being and correct husbandry of their domesticated descendants. This book provides up-to-date information on the natural history of all the mammals on which human societies have depended for their survival.

The domestication of the horse in the fourth millennium BC altered the course of mankind's future. Formerly a source only of meat, horses now became the prime mode of fast transport as well as a versatile weapon of war. Carolyn Willekes traces the early history of the horse through a combination of equine iconography, literary representations, fieldwork and archaeological theory. She explores the ways in which horses were used in the ancient world, whether in regular cavalry formations, harnessed to chariots, as a means of reconnaissance, in swift and deadly skirmishing (such as by Scythian archers) or as the key mode of mobility. Establishing a regional typology of ancient horses - Mediterranean, Central Asian and Near Eastern - the author discerns within these categories several distinct sub-types. Explaining how the physical characteristics of each type influenced its use on the battlefield - through grand strategy, singular tactics and general deployment - she focuses on Egypt, Persia and the Hittites, as well as Greece and Rome. This is the most comprehensive treatment yet written of the horse in antiquity.