Davide Tanasi, a professor at the University of South Florida (USF), has discovered new evidence that horses were present and consumed in Sicily during the early Bronze Age, much earlier than previously believed. His research was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One.
The findings challenge longstanding assumptions about prehistoric Sicily. Previously, scholars thought horses did not appear on the Mediterranean island until the beginning of the first millennium B.C. Tanasi’s study now pushes this timeline back by approximately 1,000 years.
“Thousands and thousands of pages that have been written now have to be revised and rewritten because we found the missing piece,” said Tanasi.
Tanasi is founder and director of USF’s Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx). He worked with Robert Tykot from USF’s Department of Anthropology and Enrico Greco from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment. Their research suggests that horses played an important role not only in transportation but also in diet among early Bronze Age communities.
“The horse was one of the most transformative animals in ancient civilizations, shaping mobility, warfare, hunting, agriculture, economy and religion,” said Tanasi. “To prove that the indigenous of Sicily had access to horses 1,000 years before what was traditionally believed has enormous repercussions and substantially alters existing models of horse domestication, utilization and dietary practices.”
The team’s work also provides insight into intercultural interactions, ritual behaviors, and economic strategies in central Mediterranean societies during this period.
Tanasi explained that most materials retrieved from their excavation near Polizzello mountain were pottery fragments such as footed vessels, pitchers, cups—objects typical for prehistoric libation rituals. Among these was a large pedestal basin likely used at communal rites involving horse meat-based foodstuffs: “It must have contained horse meat-based foodstuff, possibly in the form of a stew. Participants to the ritual took portions into smaller bowls, from which they consumed it,” he said. Ethnographic studies suggest these rituals may have included prayer or dance.
A terracotta phallus was also uncovered at the site—evidence suggesting repeated fertility-related performances took place there.
Although Tanasi excavated this site in 2005 near Sicily’s Polizzello mountain base, technological limitations prevented identification of organic residues on pottery at that time. In 2024 he revisited stored samples using advanced techniques available at IDEx at USF.
“The proteomic analysis of the organic residues revealed a clear biomolecular signature of horse products in a substantial subset of the vessels,” said Tanasi. The presence of equine serum albumin—a major blood protein found in horses—was especially prominent.
“Thousands and thousands of pages that have been written now have to be revised and rewritten because we found the missing piece,” Tanasi told Bay News 9.
More information about USF’s Institute for Digital Exploration can be found on its website.
