The introduction of horses transformed the social structures of the North American Plains Indians (Image: Marilyn Angel Wynn/Native Stock/Getty)
The greatest technological revolution ever – farming replacing foraging – was initially a step back for human productivity
THE great upheavals of our human past, the demise of slavery, for example, or the end of Communist rule in the Soviet Union, are the big game of historical explanation. A common strategy is to posit some external cause such as population growth, climate change, or a new technology, and then show its effect on institutions and culture. But because the dramatic changes in history…
