Obedience and a strong back: scientists have figured out the place and time of the appearance of the first domestic horses

Russian scientists from different regions of the country as part of an international group of researchers found that the species of domestic horses first appeared around 2200 BC.

NS.

in the Pontic-Caspian steppe.

This is reported in the journal Nature.

The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.

Scientists have been trying to figure out the origin of modern horses for many years.

Earlier, French experts from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Paul Sabottier University in Toulouse have denied the theory that the Botay horses, domesticated in the territory of modern Kazakhstan in 5500 BC.

NS.

were the ancestors of domestic horses.

Experts have found that these animals were more likely the progenitors of Przewalski's horses.

“Three years ago, my group examined the remains of the most ancient domesticated horses at the moment - their age was about 5.5 thousand years.

The results of the DNA sequencing were disappointing: these creatures did not turn out to be the ancestors of the modern horses that we were trying to find.

We had to look further, we knew that the clue lies somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago, ”the words of CNRS researcher Ludovik Orlando are quoted in the release of the Russian Science Foundation.

A group of 162 scientists from all over the world, including from Russia, conducted extensive research to find out when and where modern domestic horses first appeared.

Scientists have studied the archaeological remains of horses that lived in Eurasia between 50 thousand years and 200 years BC.

e., and identified 273 genomes of ancient equids.

Then they compared these genes to the DNA of modern horses.

• Horse jawbone found at an archaeological site in Denmark

• © Rune Iversen / East Jutland Museum

As a result, scientists found out that Eurasia was inhabited by various types of horses, but in 2000-2200 BC.

NS.

in the Pontic-Caspian steppe (the territory stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. -

) the species of domestic horses appeared.

These animals were distinguished from their relatives by a pair of genes, which were responsible for a strong back and obedience.

The researchers note that in the Bronze Age, domestic horses were used for travel and sports.

Also, according to scientists, these animals have become a valuable commodity, "a symbol of wealth and status," so they began to actively breed.

The results of the study can be useful in studying the mechanisms of biological evolution, experts say.

“The mystery of the origin of modern horses seems to be solved, but it entails the need to rethink the processes of human settlement and the spread of the cultures of Eurasia.

In general, the results of the study are of great importance for the further understanding of the mechanisms of biological evolution, the result of which is, among other things, the emergence of domesticated forms of wild animals useful to humans, ”notes Vladimir Pitulko, Ph.D.