Early transatlantic movement of horses and donkeys at Jamestown

Abstract

Domestic equids were central to the initial colonization of the Atlantic coast of the Americas, a process partially chronicled by historical records. While Spanish colonists brought horses to the Caribbean decades earlier, settlement of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, was among the first dispersals of horses to the eastern seaboard. Archaeozoological analysis of identifiable domestic equid remains from two contexts associated with the initial occupation of Jamestown demonstrates intense processing and consumption of the first Jamestown horses during the “Starving Time” winter of 1609. Osteological and biomolecular study of these equid remains demonstrates their successful reproduction at the colony and use in transport activities and identifies an adult domestic donkey with mixed European and West African ancestry, possibly supplied through undocumented exchange during a transatlantic stopover. These results reveal the challenges of equid translocation in early settlement of eastern North America and the global connectivity of early transatlantic animal exchange.