Horse mandible from Plotiště nad Labem, Czech Republic, reveals a mode of equine control in the Early Bronze Age

A horse ( Equus caballus ) mandible, probably from a 4.5–5.5-year-old male, recovered from an assemblage at the Early Bronze Age fortified settlement of Plotiště nad Labem (Czech Republic), exhibits substantial remodelling. The pathology consists of severe narrowing restricted to the rostral part of the diastema, while the premolars remain intact. We interpret it as a vital reaction to the long-term application of a loop tightened around the diastema to control the horse, whether for tethering, leading or directing the animal. This loop-based system represents a form of control distinct from bitting, which has hitherto been emphasised in historical discussion and methodological research and is manifested primarily by wear and damage affecting the rostral premolars. The lesion presented here suggests that, alongside abrasion and damage to the teeth, archaeozoological analyses should systematically consider pressure-induced remodelling of the diastemal bone and other cranial bones in archaeological investigations of horse domestication, control and management. The specimen was therefore examined using various imaging techniques, directly radiocarbon-dated, and compared with pathological manifestations of other forms of control as well as with the broader artefactual and historical evidence. Rare ethnographic observations show that a loop around the diastema can be used effectively for riding. To date, the find from Plotiště nad Labem represents one of the earliest pieces of palaeopathological evidence for horse control in Europe and the oldest securely dated specimen of its kind (1881–1696 cal BC). The palaeopathological evidence for the use of a leather or rope loop around the mandibular diastema apparently represents a very early, perhaps the earliest, form of horse control; however, such systems are unlikely to be detected through artefactual evidence alone.