Horse riding is a human activity that has particularly interested bioanthropologists and paleopathologists working on the reconstruction of activities from skeletal changes in ancient populations. However, various sample and methodological limitations, such as the absence of direct evidence connecting the individuals and the activity, result in a lack of confidence regarding what changes should be included in the so‐called horse riding syndrome. Focusing on the ovalization of the acetabulum, regularly mentioned in literature, we analyzed comparative samples of presumed riders and non‐riders to evaluate its reliability for the identification of horse riding. We relied on a Hungarian Conquest period collection (10th century CE), including several individuals associated with horse riding equipment or horse bones in the graves. Direct and easily repeatable measurements were used to calculate an index of ovalization of the acetabulum (IOA). The index values were compared according to the presence or absence of archaeological deposit. An extra‐group of presumed non‐riders from the documented Luís Lopes Skeletal Collection (Lisbon) was used for comparison. Early Hungarians buried with horse‐related grave goods exhibited a higher overall IOA compared with the ones without and those known not to ride (p = 0.049 in the latter case, with left and right values combined). Our results suggest that the ovalization of the acetabulum may indeed be a promising indicator to be included in a set of markers for horse riding. The analysis of further different types of pathological and nonpathological skeletal changes (e.g., joint and entheseal changes) will contribute to a more reliable identification of horse riders in anthropological collections.

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Investigation of warfare-related lifestyle based on the activity-induced skeletal changes is of great interest for bioarchaeologists. Numerous studies have described various skeletal traces connected to the regular practice of different types of weapons. However, methodological problems, such as the multifactorial aetiology of these presumed activity-related skeletal changes, make it difficult to evaluate which changes are reliable in the identification and characterisation of a given class of individuals in a population. This paper aims to find significant morphological and metric differences on the humerus between individuals buried with and without weapons. We focused on the Hungarian Conquest period (10th-century CE) collection of Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld, characterised by a high number of burials associated with weapons and, especially, archery-related equipment. Only adult males were selected for this study to decrease the influence of nonmechanical factors, such as age and sex. We analysed the bones for the presence of entheseal changes, joint changes, morphological variants, and traumas. The selection of these markers relied on anatomical and sport traumatological data. We also calculated indices of robusticity and shape based on the external measurements of the humerus. The values were compared according to the presence (armed group) or absence (unarmed group) of weapon deposits in the graves. An independent group of nonwarriors from the documented Luís Lopes Skeletal Collection (Lisbon) was also used for comparison. In general, the armed group exhibited higher rates of changes, and statistical tests revealed significant intergroup differences concerning certain entheseal changes and indices of robusticity and shape. Although the multifactorial aetiology of skeletal changes highly limits the possible interpretations, our results suggest that a set of morphological and metric features on the humerus is indicative of the practice of activities including archery and other fighting techniques. We assess that the further analysis of activity-related changes of the upper limb bones will contribute to the recognition of the presence of warriors at a populational level.

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