Horses: Domesticated twice?

According to a report in Nature, researchers believe that horses were domesticated twice, but the first attempt didn’t stick. It’s believed that according to genetic data, Botai hunters in Central Asia may have been the first to domesticate horses around 5,000 years ago for milk and meat, but the farming did not continue.

Researchers said that the use of horses varied. North of the Caucasian mountains, horses were first used for transportation 4,200 years ago. This revolutionised travel, and within a few centuries, wild horses in the area were replaced with domesticated ones.

The findings call into question some long-held ideas about when, why and who in horse domestication,”

says Ludovuc Orlando, molecular archaeologist and director of the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, France.

People from South West Asia known as Yamnaya were first credited with being the pioneers of domesticating horses, but the dates don’t stack up. It is thought they used cattle to draw carts 5,000 years ago to move to Europe, creating major bronze age cultures along the route. Interestingly, these ancient people left a legacy that includes an increased risk of MS and Alzheimers in descendants today. Orlando argues that it is not possible they made these journeys on horseback, though, and the gene did not start spreading until 800 years after the Yamnaya migrated.

The researchers examined DNA from 475 ancient and 77 modern horses, combining genetic analysis with archaeological data and establishing a timeline for horse domestication. It is now believed that domestic horses started spreading through Europe and Asia 4,200 years ago, later than initial research suggested.

Orlando says:

From 4,200 years ago, the bloodline that was north of the Caucasian range becomes global.”

He suggests that for the second domestication of horses, mobility was in mind.

The research has caused some friction, with archaeozoologist William Taylor stating:

The animals we know today did not have a presence in Yamnaya culture. This is a hard reality that genetic evidence is able to provide.”

Archaeologist Volker Heyd says:

Our best scenario for the rapid and extensive Yamnaya expansion, covering 5,000 kilometres and more in 100 to 200 years, is for it to be facilitated by wheel and wagon and on horseback.”

There is a general mistake in assuming migration needs horses,” argue archaeologist Ursula Brosseder. “Humans throughout history have done there migrations mostly on foot and even walking, people can cover 1,000 kilometres in a month.”

Katie Gilmour is the host of Poles, Piaffe & Prosecco: the podcast for riders that love to train, laugh and drink prosecco! The podcast is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Spotify and Apple Podcasts.