How far back can you trace your family tree? Probably not 4,000 years!
Last month, scientists published a study identifying the genetic homeland of modern horses, finding that the animals were first DOMESTICATED around 4,200 years ago in a region that’s now part of Russia.
You’ve probably not given much thought to the role horses have played throughout history, but these incredible mammals helped shape human development by revolutionizing transport, travel, communication, agriculture, warfare and more.
“The history of humans is wrapped up in horse DNA,” Kate Kanne, an archaeologist at the University of Exeter in the UK, tells National Geographic. “It tells the story of both our species.”
Study Facts:
• Number of samples collected: 2,000
• Where samples were collected: Europe & Asia
• Number of years this study took: 5
There has long been debate among scientists about where domestic horses originated. Part of the challenge is that, unlike with other livestock, scientists have had difficulty determining which bones belonged to domestic versus wild horses.
The lead author of the study, Ludovic Orlando, is a molecular archaeologist at Paul Sabatier University in France. Orlando and a team of more than 160 scientists spent the last five years collecting pieces of bone and tooth from ancient horses. They collected more than 2,000 samples from 273 ancient horses found across Europe and Asia. They compared the DNA to that of modern horses. It may sound simple, but it was no small feat and took a team of experts!
Whether on a TV show or in a commercial, you’ve probably heard about DNA. While horse and human DNA is not exactly the same, we do share much of the same DNA with our equine friends!
Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher first identified DNA in the 1860s, but it was another hundred years before scientists started using DNA testing in ways we think of today, like solving crimes. In the last few decades, DNA testing has improved and become more accessible. It’s even possible to use DNA testing to determine your family history—known as genealogy!
