Elyse Venerable | Horse teeth hold historical clues about military power and trade in Western Africa

The Department of Anthropology at Harvard University is pleased to share good news out of UC Santa Cruz featuring Elyse Venerable, an incoming PhD student in Archaeology at Harvard. While an undergrad, Venerable (UCSC '24) received the Chancellor’s Award and Dean’s Award for her research using strontium isotope analysis to uncover the origins of Oyo Empire war horses. In a news piece titled "Horse teeth hold historical clues about military power and trade in Western Africa," we learn how Venerable's research has helped solve a centuries-old mystery.

The Oyo Empire, once located in present-day western Nigeria, was known for its impressive cavalry, which cemented the empire’s power across Western Africa from the 17th to 18th century. But the region is also home to the tsetse fly, a notorious vector for diseases that kill horses. So cavalry horses must have been continuously imported. But from where? The answer could help anthropologists understand historical trade networks. 

Read more here.