Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2,200 BCE in Eurasia

[Tautalus]

After analysing the DNA from 475 ancient horses, the data suggest that horses (the domestic horse as we know today) were domesticated later than previously thought, about 4,200 years ago. This implies that the Yamnaya did not migrate on horseback, because the horses genes didn’t begin to spread until around 800 years after the Yamnaya migration.​

Abstract

Horses revolutionized human history with fast mobility. However, the timeline between their domestication and widespread integration as a means of transportation remains contentious. Here we assemble a large collection of 475 ancient horse genomes to assess the period when these animals were first reshaped by human agency in Eurasia. We find that reproductive control of the modern domestic lineage emerged ~2,200 BCE (Before Common Era), through close kin mating and shortened generation times. Reproductive control emerged following a severe domestication bottleneck starting no earlier than ~2,700 BCE, and coincided with a sudden expansion across Eurasia that ultimately resulted in the replacement of nearly every local horse lineage. This expansion marked the rise of widespread horse-based mobility in human history, which refutes the commonly-held narrative of large horse herds accompanying the massive migration of steppe peoples across Europe ~3,000 BCE and earlier. Finally, we detect significantly shortened generation times at Botai ~3,500 BCE, a settlement from Central Asia associated with corrals and a subsistence economy centered on horses. This supports local horse husbandry before the rise of modern domestic bloodlines.

Paid Article​

Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2200 bce in Eurasia - Nature

Analyses of 475 ancient horse genomes show modern horses emerged around 2200 bce, coinciding with sudden expansion across Eurasia, refuting the narrative of large horse herds accompanying earlier migrations of steppe peoples across Europe.

www.nature.com

Article in ScienceNews

Horses may have been domesticated twice. Only one attempt stuck

Genetic evidence suggests that the ancestors of domestic horses were bred for mobility about 4,200 years ago.

www.sciencenews.org

Article preview
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07597-5.epdf