Cowboys

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the cowboy ("vaqueros", Spanish,which evolved from the root word, "vaca" meaning cow) was first introduced in 1598 in the United States then known as the New Mexico Kingdom. The author points out that the American cowboys of the late 1800's trail drives came from Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Gaelic roots in the British Isles thus their distinctive lingo was based generally on the English language; their poems and songs are a part of the old tradition of balladry, the modern form of which is called western music. The paper relates that modern cowboys are still working in comfortable homes with their families, use advanced technology and husbandry in working cattle, use horses on the range but trucks are more common and helicopters and airplanes are used to supplement horses in herding cattle

From the Paper:

"Equestrians, mounted horsemen, date back to 4000 B.C. and can be seen in Mesolithic representations of halters on domesticated horses. Archaeological evidence of horsemen in Spain can be found in rock art dating before 2000 B.C. and "in fragments of Celtic weapons, horseshoes, bridle bits and prick spurs by 500 B.C.." Other evidence from this same era include "bent-knee riders in saddles of concave silhouette" that appear in Iberian stone carvings, bronze castings, and vase paintings. During the Middle Ages, mounted herdsmen were a frequent fixture on the semi-arid lands of Spain, but rare in many other European countries, such as England and France."

More papers on Cowboys:

• Comparison Essay # 33514 : "Western Cowboys and American Hippies"
• Essay # 54115 : "Managing the Dallas Cowboys"
• Analytical Essay # 41249 : "Cowboys"
• Film Review # 4017 : "Space Cowboys"

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