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Mitchell Peter, Horse Nations. The Worldwide Impact of the Horse on Indigenous Societies Post-1492, Oxford, OUP, 2015, 464 pages; ISBN : 978-0-19-870383-9; prix : £35.00Présentation de l'éditeurThe Native American on a horse is an archetypal Hollywood image, but though such equestrian-focused societies were a relatively short-lived consequence of European expansion overseas, they were not restricted to North America's Plains.Horse Nations provides the first wide-ranging and up-to-date synthesis of the impact of the horse on the Indigenous societies of North and South America, southern Africa, and Australasia following its introduction as a result of European contact post-1492. Drawing on sources in a variety of languages and on the evidence of archaeology, anthropology, and history, the volume outlines the transformations that the acquisition of the horse wrought on a diverse range of groups within these four continents. It explores key topics such as changes in subsistence, technology, and belief systems, the horse's role in facilitating the emergence of more hierarchical social formations, and the interplay between ecology, climate, and human action in adopting the horse, as well as considering how far equestrian lifestyles were ultimately unsustainable.Table des matièresAcknowledgementsList of FiguresList of Colour PlatesList of Tables1: Introducing Horse Nations2: Ancestors3: A Prodigal Return4: North America I: The Southwest and the Southern Plains5: North America II: The Central and Northern Plains6: North America III: West of the Rockies7: South America I: Caribbean Deserts and Tropical Savannahs8: South America II: The Southern Cone9: The Old World: Southern Africa and Australasia10: Putting Horse Nations in ContextAppendix 1: Self-Designations of Native American PeoplesReferencesIndexSource : Oxford University Press