Horse domestication traced to ancient central Asian culture
Bone and chemical analyses indicate horses were harnessed and even milked more than 5,000 years ago in central Asia
By Bruce Bower
Central Asia’s vast grasslands hosted a prehistoric revolution in transportation, communication and warfare, thanks to the humble horse. Remains from Kazakhstan’s more than 5,000-year-old Botai culture have yielded the earliest direct evidence for domestication of these versatile beasts, scientists report.
The Botai people were hunter-gatherers who lived in large settlements for months or years. Their culture lasted from 5,600 to 5,100 years ago. Researchers have long suspected that the Botai rode domesticated horses while hunting for wild horses to eat but did not domesticate other animals or cultivate crops.
Butchered horse remains found at four Botai sites include two tell-tale signs of domestication: slender lower-leg bones like those of later domesticated horses and cheek teeth worn down by bits that attached to bridles or similar restraints, says a team led by archaeologist Alan Outram of the University of Exeter, England.