Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2200 bce in Eurasia
Creators: name: Szeliga, Marcin
name: Shapiro, Beth
name: Weinstock, Jaco
name: Gregersen, Kristian M.
name: Turbat, Tsagaan
name: Dashkovskiy, Petr K.
name: Torres, Joan Ramon
name: Rasmussen, Uffe
name: Khaskhanov, Ruslan
name: Deschler-Erb, Sabine
name: Mullin, Victoria E.
name: Kanne, Katherine
name: Pruvost, Mélanie
name: Sablin, Mikhail V.
name: Kuznetsov, Pavel F.
name: Gaunitz, Charleen
name: Wagner, Stefanie
name: Ilchyshyn, Vasyl
name: Telles Antunes, Miguel
name: Kalmykov, Alexey
name: Sanmartí, Joan
name: Ludwig, Arne
name: Novak, Mario
name: Lepetz, Sébastien
name: Robert, Céline
name: Wincker, Patrick
name: Fages, Antoine
name: Morer de Llorens, Jordi
name: Klassen, Lutz
name: Degueurce, Christophe
name: Belinskiy, Andrey
name: Pucher, Erich
name: Rapan Papeša, Anita
name: Berezina, Natalia Ya.
name: de Prado, Gabriel
name: Vulic, Hrvoje
name: Southon, John
name: Seguin-Orlando, Andaine
name: García Dalmau, Cristina
name: Iderkhangai, Tumur-Ochir
name: Mayer, Christian
name: Logvin, Andrey
name: Kyselý, René
name: Mashkour, Marjan
name: Trbojević Vukičević, Tajana
name: Alexeev, Anatoly
name: Makowiecki, Daniel
name: Boulbes, Nicolas
name: Gardeisen, Armelle
name: Wallner, Barbara
name: Houle, Jean-Luc
name: Brem, Gottfried
name: Tishkin, Alexey A.
name: Bayarkhuu, Noost
name: Kveiborg, Jacob
name: Duchesne, Sylvie
name: Schiavinato, Stéphanie
name: Renaud, Gabriel
name: López-Cachero, F. Javier
name: Perdereau, Aude
name: Johannsen, Niels Nørkjær
name: Rimpf, Andrea
name: Kasparov, Aleksei K.
name: Verdugo, Marta
name: Turk, Peter
name: Pitulko, Vladimir V.
name: Reiter, Simone
name: Atabiev, Biyaslan
name: Rajić Šikanjić, Petra
name: Rud, Vitalii
name: Peške, Lubomír
name: Librado, Pablo
name: Merts, Viktor
name: Bagnasco Gianni, Giovanna
name: Bouchez, Olivier
name: Belarte Franco, Maria-Carme
name: Donnadieu, Cécile
name: Bradley, Daniel G.
name: Graphodatsky, Alexander S.
name: Horwitz, Liora Kolska
name: Merts, Ilia
name: Granado, José
name: Aury, Jean-Marc
name: Schwall, Christoph
name: Döhle, Hans-Jürgen
name: Kadieva, Anna
name: Jessen, Mads Dengsø
name: Outram, Alan
name: Prato, Ornella
name: Makarowicz, Przemysław
name: Orlando, Ludovic
name: Tressières, Gaetan
name: Collin, Yvette Running Horse
name: Demoule, Jean-Paul
name: Ameen, Carly
name: Kallala, Nabil
name: Arbuckle, Benjamin S.
name: Codina, Ferran
name: Marzullo, Matilde
name: Kovalev, Alexey A.
name: Kusliy, Mariya A.
name: Albizuri, Silvia
name: Kosintsev, Pavel A.
name: Pou, Josep
name: Christensen, Kirsten
name: Claudi-Hansen, Lone
name: Hansen, Svend
name: Burić, Marcel
name: Korobov, Dmitriy S.
name: Öztan, Aliye
name: Calvière-Tonasso, Laure
name: Onar, Vedat
name: Sundqvist, Marie
name: Asensio Vilaró, David
name: Valente, Maria J.
name: O’Connor, Terry
name: Thomas, Richard
name: Chauvey, Lorelei
name: Ananyevskaya, Elina
name: Vicze, Magdolna
name: Lindgren, Gabriella
name: Reinhold, Sabine
name: Schlumbaum, Angela
name: Shingiray, Irina
name: Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav
name: Khan, Naveed
name: Barrey, Éric
name: Der Sarkissian, Clio
name: Cardoso, João L.
name: Zazzo, Antoine
name: Crubézy, Éric
name: Romaniszyn, Jan
name: Shevnina, Irina
name: McColl, Hugh
name: Liu, Xuexue
name: Demidenko, Sergey
name: Maraoui-Telmini, Bouthéina
name: Mráz, Monika Schernig
name: Roslyakova, Natalia
name: Tecchiati, Umberto
name: Valenzuela-Lamas, Silvia
Publisher: name: Springer Nature
Year: 2024

description: Horses revolutionized human history with fast mobility1. However, the timeline between their domestication and their widespread integration as a means of transport remains contentious2–4. Here we assemble a 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 around 2200 bce, through close-kin mating and shortened generation times. Reproductive control emerged following a severe domestication bottleneck starting no earlier than approximately 2700 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 around 3000 bce and earlier3,5. Finally, we detect significantly shortened generation times at Botai around 3500 bce, a settlement from central Asia associated with corrals and a subsistence economy centred on horses6,7. This supports local horse husbandry before the rise of modern domestic bloodlines.