Although recognized as one of the most significant cultural transformations in North America, the reintroduction of the horse to the continent after AD 1492 has been rarely addressed by archaeological science. A key contributing factor behind this limited study is the apparent absence of equine skeletal remains from early historic archaeological contexts. Here, we present a multidisciplinary analysis of a horse skeleton recovered in Lehi, Utah, originally attributed to the Pleistocene. Reanalysis of stratigraphic context and radiocarbon dating indicates a historic age for this horse (cal AD 1681–1939), linking it with Ute or other Indigenous groups, whereas osteological features demonstrate its use for mounted horseback riding—perhaps with a nonframe saddle. DNA analysis indicates that the animal was a female domestic horse, which was likely cared for as part of a breeding herd despite outliving its usefulness in transport. Finally, sequentially sampled stable carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope values from tooth enamel (δ13C, δ18O, and 87Sr/86Sr) suggest that the horse was raised locally. These results show the utility of archaeological science as applied to horse remains in understanding Indigenous horse pastoralism, whereas consideration of the broader archaeological record suggests a pattern of misidentification of horse bones from early historic contexts.

尽管被认为是北美最重要的文化变革之一，但考古科学很少涉及公元 1492 年之后马被重新引入大陆的问题。这项有限研究背后的一个关键因素是早期历史考古背景中明显缺乏马骨骼遗骸。在这里，我们对在犹他州李海发现的马骨骼进行了多学科分析，该骨骼最初归因于更新世。重新分析地层背景和放射性碳测年表明这匹马的历史年龄（cal AD 1681-1939），将它与 Ute 或其他土著群体联系起来，而骨骼特征表明它用于骑马 - 也许与非框架马鞍一起使用。DNA 分析表明该动物是一匹雌性家养马，尽管它在运输中的用处已经过时，但它很可能作为种畜群的一部分受到照顾。最后，依次从牙釉质（δ13 C、δ 18 O 和87 Sr / 86 Sr) 表明这匹马是在当地饲养的。这些结果表明，考古科学应用于马的效用仍然有助于理解土著马畜牧业，而对更广泛考古记录的考虑则表明早期历史背景中马骨的错误识别模式。