Domesticating Horses Had a Huge Impact on Human Society

Source: theconversation.com | Dated: September 3, 2024

Earlier Understanding: Horse Domestication
The domestication of horses dates back to the Botai culture in Kazakhstan around the 4th millennium BCE, where large quantities of horse bones were discovered. The Botai people are widely believed to be the first to domesticate horses, significantly shaping early human society by providing mobility, food, and labor.

New Research Findings: Key Insights
A genomic study of early Eurasian horses, published in Nature (June 2024), challenges previous assumptions about horse domestication:
• Yamnaya horses were once thought to be the ancestors of the first domesticated horses, known as the DOM2 lineage. However, the study shows Yamnaya horses were not the progenitors of these early domestic horses.
• Contrary to prior beliefs, Yamnaya horses exhibit no genetic signs of selective breeding or reproductive control—such as inbreeding—common in domesticated animals.
• DOM2 horses first appear just before 2000 BCE, after the Yamnaya migrations but just before the first burials of horses and chariots are recorded in archaeological sites.

Why This Matters for UPSC
Understanding horse domestication:
• Sheds light on human-animal relationships and early Eurasian cultures.
• Crucial for Anthropology Paper-I (Fossil Evidence & Archaeology) and GS-I (Ancient Indian History).

Relevant PYQs
1. "Enumerate the evidence of animal domestication in Indian microlithic industry." (15M/2022) .