Author Event with William T. Taylor (Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History)

Shakespeare & Co. is pleased to host a reading by acclaimed author William T. Taylor on Monday, September 30 at 7:00 pm. Taylor will read from his new book Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History (University of California Press, 2024). This event is free and open to the public.

Author Bio:
Dr. William T. Taylor is an Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology at the University of Colorado-Boulder, whose work explores the domestication of the horse and the ancient relationships between people and animals.

With active field research projects in “horse country” around the world, from the steppes of Eurasia to the Great Plains of North America and the Pampas of Argentina, his work brings together emerging technologies and cutting-edge scientific techniques alongside historic records, traditional knowledge, and personal experience to help tell the story of people and horses.

A National Geographic explorer and Fulbright scholar, William received his Ph.D. with distinction from the University of New Mexico where his research into ancient Mongolian horse cultures also received the Popejoy Award, the university’ top prize for dissertation research. His scholarship has been published in top-tier scientific journals including Science and PNAS, and has been funded by international granting agencies from National Geographic to the National Science Foundation. His research was awarded the 2023 Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

About the Book:
Journey to the ancient past with cutting-edge science and new data to discover how horses forever altered the course of human history.

From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, William T. Taylor explores how momentous events in the story of humans and horses helped create the world we live in today. Tracing the horse's origins and spread from the western Eurasian steppes to the invention of horse-drawn transportation and the explosive shift to mounted riding, Taylor offers a revolutionary new account of how horses altered the course of human history.

Drawing on Indigenous perspectives, ancient DNA, and new research from Mongolia to the Great Plains and beyond, Taylor guides readers through the major discoveries that have placed the horse at the origins of globalization, trade, biological exchange, and social inequality. Hoof Beats transforms our understanding of both horses and humanity's ancient past and asks us to consider what our relationship with horses means for the future of humanity and the world around us.