Archaeologist. Scientist. Author.
The author at Saqqara, Egypt
Dr. William T. Taylor is an Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology at the University of Colorado-Boulder, whose work explores the domestication of the horse and the ancient relationships between people and animals.
With active field research projects in “horse country” around the world, from the steppes of Eurasia to the Great Plains of North America and the Pampas of Argentina, his work brings together emerging technologies and cutting-edge scientific techniques alongside historic records, traditional knowledge, and personal experience to help tell the story of people and horses.
Dr. Taylor recovering an ancient arrow from melting ice during archaeological fieldwork in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia.
A National Geographic explorer and Fulbright scholar, William received his Ph.D. with distinction from the University of New Mexico where his research into ancient Mongolian horse cultures also received the Popejoy Award, the university’ top prize for dissertation research. His scholarship has been published in top-tier scientific journals including Science and PNAS, and has been funded by international granting agencies from National Geographic to the National Science Foundation. His research was awarded the 2023 Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Download William’s CV here.
Learn more about his upcoming course, Horses and the Human Story: How Mongolian Horses Changed the World, here.
To work with Dr. Taylor or learn more about his work, visit his profile or his lab page at the University of Colorado-Boulder.