The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

Pablo Librado; Naveed Khan; Antoine Fages; Mariya A. Kusliy; Tomasz Suchan; Laure Tonasso-Calvière; Stéphanie Schiavinato; Duha Alioglu; Aurore Fromentier; Aude Perdereau; Jean Marc Aury; Charleen Gaunitz; Lorelei Chauvey; Andaine Seguin-Orlando; Clio Der Sarkissian; John Southon; Beth Shapiro; Alexey A. Tishkin; Alexey A. Kovalev; Saleh Alquraishi; Ahmed H. Alfarhan; Khaled A.S. Al-Rasheid; Timo Seregély; Lutz Klassen; Rune Iversen; Olivier Bignon-Lau; Pierre Bodu; Monique Olive; Jean Christophe Castel; Myriam Boudadi-Maligne; Nadir Alvarez; Mietje Germonpré; Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo; Jarosław Wilczyński; Sylwia Pospuła; Anna Lasota-Kuś; Krzysztof Tunia; Marek Nowak; Eve Rannamäe; Urmas Saarma; Gennady Boeskorov; Lembi Lōugas; René Kyselý; Lubomír Peške; Adrian Bălășescu; Valentin Dumitrașcu; Roxana Dobrescu; Daniel Gerber; Viktória Kiss; Anna Szécsényi-Nagy; Balázs G. Mende; Zsolt Gallina; Krisztina Somogyi; Gabriella Kulcsár; Erika Gál; Robin Bendrey; Morten E. Allentoft; Ghenadie Sirbu; Valentin Dergachev; Henry Shephard; Noémie Tomadini; Sandrine Grouard; Aleksei Kasparov; Alexander E. Basilyan; Mikhail A. Anisimov; Pavel A. Nikolskiy; Elena Y. Pavlova; Vladimir Pitulko; Gottfried Brem; Barbara Wallner; Christoph Schwall; Marcel Keller; Keiko Kitagawa; Alexander N. Bessudnov; Alexander Bessudnov; William Taylor; Jérome Magail; Jamiyan Ombo Gantulga; Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan; Diimaajav Erdenebaatar; Kubatbeek Tabaldiev; Enkhbayar Mijiddorj; Bazartseren Boldgiv; Turbat Tsagaan; Mélanie Pruvost; Sandra Olsen; Cheryl A. Makarewicz; Silvia Valenzuela Lamas; Silvia Albizuri Canadell; Ariadna Nieto Espinet; Ma Pilar Iborra; Jaime Lira Garrido; Esther Rodríguez González; Sebastián Celestino; Carmen Olària; Juan Luis Arsuaga; Nadiia Kotova; Alexander Pryor; Pam Crabtree; Rinat Zhumatayev; Abdesh Toleubaev; Nina L. Morgunova; Tatiana Kuznetsova; David Lordkipanize; Matilde Marzullo; Ornella Prato; Giovanna Bagnasco Gianni; Umberto Tecchiati; Benoit Clavel; Sébastien Lepetz; Hossein Davoudi; Marjan Mashkour; Natalia Ya Berezina; Philipp W. Stockhammer; Johannes Krause; Wolfgang Haak; Arturo Morales-Muñiz; Norbert Benecke; Michael Hofreiter; Arne Ludwig; Alexander S. Graphodatsky; Joris Peters; Kirill Yu Kiryushin; Tumur Ochir Iderkhangai; Nikolay A. Bokovenko; Sergey K. Vasiliev; Nikolai N. Seregin; Konstantin V. Chugunov; Natalya A. Plasteeva; Gennady F. Baryshnikov; Ekaterina Petrova; Mikhail Sablin; Elina Ananyevskaya; Andrey Logvin; Irina Shevnina; Victor Logvin; Saule Kalieva; Valeriy Loman; Igor Kukushkin; Ilya Merz; Victor Merz; Sergazy Sakenov; Victor Varfolomeyev; Emma Usmanova; Viktor Zaibert; Benjamin Arbuckle; Andrey B. Belinskiy; Alexej Kalmykov; Sabine Reinhold; Svend Hansen; Aleksandr I. Yudin; Alekandr A. Vybornov; Andrey Epimakhov; Natalia S. Berezina; Natalia Roslyakova; Pavel A. Kosintsev; Pavel F. Kuznetsov; David Anthony; Guus J. Kroonen; Kristian Kristiansen; Patrick Wincker; Alan Outram; Ludovic Orlando

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9

The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

Pablo Librado, Naveed Khan, Antoine Fages, Mariya A. Kusliy, Tomasz Suchan, Laure Tonasso-Calvière, Stéphanie Schiavinato, Duha Alioglu, Aurore Fromentier, Aude Perdereau, Jean Marc Aury, Charleen Gaunitz, Lorelei Chauvey, Andaine Seguin-Orlando, Clio Der Sarkissian, John Southon, Beth Shapiro, Alexey A. Tishkin, Alexey A. Kovalev, Saleh AlquraishiAhmed H. Alfarhan, Khaled A.S. Al-Rasheid, Timo Seregély, Lutz Klassen, Rune Iversen, Olivier Bignon-Lau, Pierre Bodu, Monique Olive, Jean Christophe Castel, Myriam Boudadi-Maligne, Nadir Alvarez, Mietje Germonpré, Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo, Jarosław Wilczyński, Sylwia Pospuła, Anna Lasota-Kuś, Krzysztof Tunia, Marek Nowak, Eve Rannamäe, Urmas Saarma, Gennady Boeskorov, Lembi Lōugas, René Kyselý, Lubomír Peške, Adrian Bălășescu, Valentin Dumitrașcu, Roxana Dobrescu, Daniel Gerber, Viktória Kiss, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Balázs G. Mende, Zsolt Gallina, Krisztina Somogyi, Gabriella Kulcsár, Erika Gál, Robin Bendrey, Morten E. Allentoft, Ghenadie Sirbu, Valentin Dergachev, Henry Shephard, Noémie Tomadini, Sandrine Grouard, Aleksei Kasparov, Alexander E. Basilyan, Mikhail A. Anisimov, Pavel A. Nikolskiy, Elena Y. Pavlova, Vladimir Pitulko, Gottfried Brem, Barbara Wallner, Christoph Schwall, Marcel Keller, Keiko Kitagawa, Alexander N. Bessudnov, Alexander Bessudnov, William Taylor, Jérome Magail, Jamiyan Ombo Gantulga, Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan, Diimaajav Erdenebaatar, Kubatbeek Tabaldiev, Enkhbayar Mijiddorj, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Turbat Tsagaan, Mélanie Pruvost, Sandra Olsen, Cheryl A. Makarewicz, Silvia Valenzuela Lamas, Silvia Albizuri Canadell, Ariadna Nieto Espinet, Ma Pilar Iborra, Jaime Lira Garrido, Esther Rodríguez González, Sebastián Celestino, Carmen Olària, Juan Luis Arsuaga, Nadiia Kotova, Alexander Pryor, Pam Crabtree, Rinat Zhumatayev, Abdesh Toleubaev, Nina L. Morgunova, Tatiana Kuznetsova, David Lordkipanize, Matilde Marzullo, Ornella Prato, Giovanna Bagnasco Gianni, Umberto Tecchiati, Benoit Clavel, Sébastien Lepetz, Hossein Davoudi, Marjan Mashkour, Natalia Ya Berezina, Philipp W. Stockhammer, Johannes Krause, Wolfgang Haak, Arturo Morales-Muñiz, Norbert Benecke, Michael Hofreiter, Arne Ludwig, Alexander S. Graphodatsky, Joris Peters, Kirill Yu Kiryushin, Tumur Ochir Iderkhangai, Nikolay A. Bokovenko, Sergey K. Vasiliev, Nikolai N. Seregin, Konstantin V. Chugunov, Natalya A. Plasteeva, Gennady F. Baryshnikov, Ekaterina Petrova, Mikhail Sablin, Elina Ananyevskaya, Andrey Logvin, Irina Shevnina, Victor Logvin, Saule Kalieva, Valeriy Loman, Igor Kukushkin, Ilya Merz, Victor Merz, Sergazy Sakenov, Victor Varfolomeyev, Emma Usmanova, Viktor Zaibert, Benjamin Arbuckle, Andrey B. Belinskiy, Alexej Kalmykov, Sabine Reinhold, Svend Hansen, Aleksandr I. Yudin, Alekandr A. Vybornov, Andrey Epimakhov, Natalia S. Berezina, Natalia Roslyakova, Pavel A. Kosintsev, Pavel F. Kuznetsov, David Anthony, Guus J. Kroonen, Kristian Kristiansen, Patrick Wincker, Alan Outram, Ludovic Orlando

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare¹. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling^2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc³. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia⁵ and Anatolia⁶, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association⁷ between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc^8,9 driving the spread of Indo-European languages¹⁰. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture^11,12.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	634-640
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature
Volume	598
Issue number	7882
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9
State	Published - Oct 28 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

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10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9

Cite this

Librado, P., Khan, N., Fages, A., Kusliy, M. A., Suchan, T., Tonasso-Calvière, L., Schiavinato, S., Alioglu, D., Fromentier, A., Perdereau, A., Aury, J. M., Gaunitz, C., Chauvey, L., Seguin-Orlando, A., Der Sarkissian, C., Southon, J., Shapiro, B., Tishkin, A. A., Kovalev, A. A., ... Orlando, L. (2021). The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes. Nature, 598(7882), 634-640. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9

Librado, P, Khan, N, Fages, A, Kusliy, MA, Suchan, T, Tonasso-Calvière, L, Schiavinato, S, Alioglu, D, Fromentier, A, Perdereau, A, Aury, JM, Gaunitz, C, Chauvey, L, Seguin-Orlando, A, Der Sarkissian, C, Southon, J, Shapiro, B, Tishkin, AA, Kovalev, AA, Alquraishi, S, Alfarhan, AH, Al-Rasheid, KAS, Seregély, T, Klassen, L, Iversen, R, Bignon-Lau, O, Bodu, P, Olive, M, Castel, JC, Boudadi-Maligne, M, Alvarez, N, Germonpré, M, Moskal-del Hoyo, M, Wilczyński, J, Pospuła, S, Lasota-Kuś, A, Tunia, K, Nowak, M, Rannamäe, E, Saarma, U, Boeskorov, G, Lōugas, L, Kyselý, R, Peške, L, Bălășescu, A, Dumitrașcu, V, Dobrescu, R, Gerber, D, Kiss, V, Szécsényi-Nagy, A, Mende, BG, Gallina, Z, Somogyi, K, Kulcsár, G, Gál, E, Bendrey, R, Allentoft, ME, Sirbu, G, Dergachev, V, Shephard, H, Tomadini, N, Grouard, S, Kasparov, A, Basilyan, AE, Anisimov, MA, Nikolskiy, PA, Pavlova, EY, Pitulko, V, Brem, G, Wallner, B, Schwall, C, Keller, M, Kitagawa, K, Bessudnov, AN, Bessudnov, A, Taylor, W, Magail, J, Gantulga, JO, Bayarsaikhan, J, Erdenebaatar, D, Tabaldiev, K, Mijiddorj, E, Boldgiv, B, Tsagaan, T, Pruvost, M, Olsen, S, Makarewicz, CA, Valenzuela Lamas, S, Albizuri Canadell, S, Nieto Espinet, A, Iborra, MP, Lira Garrido, J, Rodríguez González, E, Celestino, S, Olària, C, Arsuaga, JL, Kotova, N, Pryor, A, Crabtree, P, Zhumatayev, R, Toleubaev, A, Morgunova, NL, Kuznetsova, T, Lordkipanize, D, Marzullo, M, Prato, O, Bagnasco Gianni, G, Tecchiati, U, Clavel, B, Lepetz, S, Davoudi, H, Mashkour, M, Berezina, NY, Stockhammer, PW, Krause, J, Haak, W, Morales-Muñiz, A, Benecke, N, Hofreiter, M, Ludwig, A, Graphodatsky, AS, Peters, J, Kiryushin, KY, Iderkhangai, TO, Bokovenko, NA, Vasiliev, SK, Seregin, NN, Chugunov, KV, Plasteeva, NA, Baryshnikov, GF, Petrova, E, Sablin, M, Ananyevskaya, E, Logvin, A, Shevnina, I, Logvin, V, Kalieva, S, Loman, V, Kukushkin, I, Merz, I, Merz, V, Sakenov, S, Varfolomeyev, V, Usmanova, E, Zaibert, V, Arbuckle, B, Belinskiy, AB, Kalmykov, A, Reinhold, S, Hansen, S, Yudin, AI, Vybornov, AA, Epimakhov, A, Berezina, NS, Roslyakova, N, Kosintsev, PA, Kuznetsov, PF, Anthony, D, Kroonen, GJ, Kristiansen, K, Wincker, P, Outram, A & Orlando, L 2021, 'The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes', Nature, vol. 598, no. 7882, pp. 634-640. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9

@article{09a8addd77924a6eaf2f180b4755871f,

title = "The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes",

abstract = "Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare1. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc3. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia5 and Anatolia6, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association7 between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc8,9 driving the spread of Indo-European languages10. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture11,12.",

author = "Pablo Librado and Naveed Khan and Antoine Fages and Kusliy, {Mariya A.} and Tomasz Suchan and Laure Tonasso-Calvi{\`e}re and St{\'e}phanie Schiavinato and Duha Alioglu and Aurore Fromentier and Aude Perdereau and Aury, {Jean Marc} and Charleen Gaunitz and Lorelei Chauvey and Andaine Seguin-Orlando and {Der Sarkissian}, Clio and John Southon and Beth Shapiro and Tishkin, {Alexey A.} and Kovalev, {Alexey A.} and Saleh Alquraishi and Alfarhan, {Ahmed H.} and Al-Rasheid, {Khaled A.S.} and Timo Sereg{\'e}ly and Lutz Klassen and Rune Iversen and Olivier Bignon-Lau and Pierre Bodu and Monique Olive and Castel, {Jean Christophe} and Myriam Boudadi-Maligne and Nadir Alvarez and Mietje Germonpr{\'e} and {Moskal-del Hoyo}, Magdalena and Jaros{\l}aw Wilczy{\'n}ski and Sylwia Pospu{\l}a and Anna Lasota-Ku{\'s} and Krzysztof Tunia and Marek Nowak and Eve Rannam{\"a}e and Urmas Saarma and Gennady Boeskorov and Lembi Lōugas and Ren{\'e} Kysel{\'y} and Lubom{\'i}r Pe{\v s}ke and Adrian B{\u a}l{\u a}șescu and Valentin Dumitrașcu and Roxana Dobrescu and Daniel Gerber and Vikt{\'o}ria Kiss and Anna Sz{\'e}cs{\'e}nyi-Nagy and Mende, {Bal{\'a}zs G.} and Zsolt Gallina and Krisztina Somogyi and Gabriella Kulcs{\'a}r and Erika G{\'a}l and Robin Bendrey and Allentoft, {Morten E.} and Ghenadie Sirbu and Valentin Dergachev and Henry Shephard and No{\'e}mie Tomadini and Sandrine Grouard and Aleksei Kasparov and Basilyan, {Alexander E.} and Anisimov, {Mikhail A.} and Nikolskiy, {Pavel A.} and Pavlova, {Elena Y.} and Vladimir Pitulko and Gottfried Brem and Barbara Wallner and Christoph Schwall and Marcel Keller and Keiko Kitagawa and Bessudnov, {Alexander N.} and Alexander Bessudnov and William Taylor and J{\'e}rome Magail and Gantulga, {Jamiyan Ombo} and Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan and Diimaajav Erdenebaatar and Kubatbeek Tabaldiev and Enkhbayar Mijiddorj and Bazartseren Boldgiv and Turbat Tsagaan and M{\'e}lanie Pruvost and Sandra Olsen and Makarewicz, {Cheryl A.} and {Valenzuela Lamas}, Silvia and {Albizuri Canadell}, Silvia and {Nieto Espinet}, Ariadna and Iborra, {Ma Pilar} and {Lira Garrido}, Jaime and {Rodr{\'i}guez Gonz{\'a}lez}, Esther and Sebasti{\'a}n Celestino and Carmen Ol{\`a}ria and Arsuaga, {Juan Luis} and Nadiia Kotova and Alexander Pryor and Pam Crabtree and Rinat Zhumatayev and Abdesh Toleubaev and Morgunova, {Nina L.} and Tatiana Kuznetsova and David Lordkipanize and Matilde Marzullo and Ornella Prato and {Bagnasco Gianni}, Giovanna and Umberto Tecchiati and Benoit Clavel and S{\'e}bastien Lepetz and Hossein Davoudi and Marjan Mashkour and Berezina, {Natalia Ya} and Stockhammer, {Philipp W.} and Johannes Krause and Wolfgang Haak and Arturo Morales-Mu{\~n}iz and Norbert Benecke and Michael Hofreiter and Arne Ludwig and Graphodatsky, {Alexander S.} and Joris Peters and Kiryushin, {Kirill Yu} and Iderkhangai, {Tumur Ochir} and Bokovenko, {Nikolay A.} and Vasiliev, {Sergey K.} and Seregin, {Nikolai N.} and Chugunov, {Konstantin V.} and Plasteeva, {Natalya A.} and Baryshnikov, {Gennady F.} and Ekaterina Petrova and Mikhail Sablin and Elina Ananyevskaya and Andrey Logvin and Irina Shevnina and Victor Logvin and Saule Kalieva and Valeriy Loman and Igor Kukushkin and Ilya Merz and Victor Merz and Sergazy Sakenov and Victor Varfolomeyev and Emma Usmanova and Viktor Zaibert and Benjamin Arbuckle and Belinskiy, {Andrey B.} and Alexej Kalmykov and Sabine Reinhold and Svend Hansen and Yudin, {Aleksandr I.} and Vybornov, {Alekandr A.} and Andrey Epimakhov and Berezina, {Natalia S.} and Natalia Roslyakova and Kosintsev, {Pavel A.} and Kuznetsov, {Pavel F.} and David Anthony and Kroonen, {Guus J.} and Kristian Kristiansen and Patrick Wincker and Alan Outram and Ludovic Orlando",

note = "Funding Information: 爀Casas del Turu{\~n}uelo 唀 r 堀 S 堀 Celestino 縀⼁瘁送騁崁騁er딁ida騁唀紀 S Aparqinu e嘀o lopgroiaje Mcts B  and B 唀 bao tdhe f unded by Junt Extremadura and European Regional Development Fund 缃唀 Funding Information: 爀Morin Mort 唀 Bor Shoroonii 唀 eerdegchingiin hoshuu 唀 uniui uGnokl h?angai 唀 Ulaan Tolgoi 圀 r 堀 J 堀 Bayarsaikhan 縁ခ紁om漁 t漁heḁ ခ騁崁紁瘁退 fr National Museum of Mongolia 唀 Ulaanbaatar 嘀 exported in  and under research agreement nb 缃唀 and Dr 堀 W 堀 Taylor 縀Fulbright US Student research award nb 唀 gNraatpiohnica ol uGnege oExplorer 嬁退 grant nb 爃缃唀 National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation ?mprovement Grant nb 缃? Funding Information: 爀Ganga 爀Tsagaan 爀Ereg 唀 hantain 爁騁紁쀃唀 Monostoy 爀NAurgzah a唀n 爃Ushk唀in 爀ChUinvgeer 唀爀 Tey 爀⼃唀 Hyena 阁退 Lair 唀 Novao 爀ilinVk a唀爀⼀⼀⼃唀 Novoilink Bijke 爀V 唀 Choburak 爀⼃唀 uyum 圀 r 堀 A 堀 Tishkin 唀n sDtrit 堀ute ? 堀of H?堀ist Norayz a唀ro Bv a ?rnaul University 嘀 project 爃o 爁爃⠁딁瘁ᨁḁᨀ c by CNRS and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research 缃唀 Funding Information: Acknowledgements We thank all members of the AGES group at CAGT. We are grateful for the Museum of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (UB RAS, Ekaterinburg) for providing specimens. The work by G. Boeskorov is done on state assignment of DPMGI SB RAS. This project was supported by the University Paul Sabatier IDEX Chaire d{\textquoteright}Excellence (OURASI); Villum Funden miGENEPI research programme; the CNRS {\textquoteleft}Programme de Recherche Conjoint{\textquoteright} (PRC); the CNRS International Research Project (IRP AMADEUS); the France G{\'e}nomique Appel {\`a} Grand Projet (ANR-10-INBS-09-08, BUCEPHALE project); IB10131 and IB18060, both funded by Junta de Extremadura (Spain) and European Regional Development Fund; Czech Academy of Sciences (RVO:67985912); the Zoological Institute ZIN RAS (АААА-А19-119032590102-7); and King Saud University Researchers Supporting Project (NSRSP–2020/2). The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (19-59-15001 and 20-04-00213), the Russian Science Foundation (16-18-10265, 20-78-10151, and 21-18-00457), the Government of the Russian Federation (FENU-2020-0021), the Estonian Research Council (PRG29), the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (PRG1209), the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (Project NF 104792), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Momentum Mobility Research Project of the Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities); and the Polish National Science Centre (2013/11/B/HS3/03822). This project has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie (grant agreement 797449). This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreements 681605, 716732 and 834616). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "598",

pages = "634--640",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "7882",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

AU - Librado, Pablo

AU - Khan, Naveed

AU - Fages, Antoine

AU - Kusliy, Mariya A.

AU - Suchan, Tomasz

AU - Tonasso-Calvière, Laure

AU - Schiavinato, Stéphanie

AU - Alioglu, Duha

AU - Fromentier, Aurore

AU - Perdereau, Aude

AU - Aury, Jean Marc

AU - Gaunitz, Charleen

AU - Chauvey, Lorelei

AU - Seguin-Orlando, Andaine

AU - Der Sarkissian, Clio

AU - Southon, John

AU - Shapiro, Beth

AU - Tishkin, Alexey A.

AU - Kovalev, Alexey A.

AU - Alquraishi, Saleh

AU - Alfarhan, Ahmed H.

AU - Al-Rasheid, Khaled A.S.

AU - Seregély, Timo

AU - Klassen, Lutz

AU - Iversen, Rune

AU - Bignon-Lau, Olivier

AU - Bodu, Pierre

AU - Olive, Monique

AU - Castel, Jean Christophe

AU - Boudadi-Maligne, Myriam

AU - Alvarez, Nadir

AU - Germonpré, Mietje

AU - Moskal-del Hoyo, Magdalena

AU - Wilczyński, Jarosław

AU - Pospuła, Sylwia

AU - Lasota-Kuś, Anna

AU - Tunia, Krzysztof

AU - Nowak, Marek

AU - Rannamäe, Eve

AU - Saarma, Urmas

AU - Boeskorov, Gennady

AU - Lōugas, Lembi

AU - Kyselý, René

AU - Peške, Lubomír

AU - Bălășescu, Adrian

AU - Dumitrașcu, Valentin

AU - Dobrescu, Roxana

AU - Gerber, Daniel

AU - Kiss, Viktória

AU - Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna

AU - Mende, Balázs G.

AU - Gallina, Zsolt

AU - Somogyi, Krisztina

AU - Kulcsár, Gabriella

AU - Gál, Erika

AU - Bendrey, Robin

AU - Allentoft, Morten E.

AU - Sirbu, Ghenadie

AU - Dergachev, Valentin

AU - Shephard, Henry

AU - Tomadini, Noémie

AU - Grouard, Sandrine

AU - Kasparov, Aleksei

AU - Basilyan, Alexander E.

AU - Anisimov, Mikhail A.

AU - Nikolskiy, Pavel A.

AU - Pavlova, Elena Y.

AU - Pitulko, Vladimir

AU - Brem, Gottfried

AU - Wallner, Barbara

AU - Schwall, Christoph

AU - Keller, Marcel

AU - Kitagawa, Keiko

AU - Bessudnov, Alexander N.

AU - Bessudnov, Alexander

AU - Taylor, William

AU - Magail, Jérome

AU - Gantulga, Jamiyan Ombo

AU - Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav

AU - Erdenebaatar, Diimaajav

AU - Tabaldiev, Kubatbeek

AU - Mijiddorj, Enkhbayar

AU - Boldgiv, Bazartseren

AU - Tsagaan, Turbat

AU - Pruvost, Mélanie

AU - Olsen, Sandra

AU - Makarewicz, Cheryl A.

AU - Valenzuela Lamas, Silvia

AU - Albizuri Canadell, Silvia

AU - Nieto Espinet, Ariadna

AU - Iborra, Ma Pilar

AU - Lira Garrido, Jaime

AU - Rodríguez González, Esther

AU - Celestino, Sebastián

AU - Olària, Carmen

AU - Arsuaga, Juan Luis

AU - Kotova, Nadiia

AU - Pryor, Alexander

AU - Crabtree, Pam

AU - Zhumatayev, Rinat

AU - Toleubaev, Abdesh

AU - Morgunova, Nina L.

AU - Kuznetsova, Tatiana

AU - Lordkipanize, David

AU - Marzullo, Matilde

AU - Prato, Ornella

AU - Bagnasco Gianni, Giovanna

AU - Tecchiati, Umberto

AU - Clavel, Benoit

AU - Lepetz, Sébastien

AU - Davoudi, Hossein

AU - Mashkour, Marjan

AU - Berezina, Natalia Ya

AU - Stockhammer, Philipp W.

AU - Krause, Johannes

AU - Haak, Wolfgang

AU - Morales-Muñiz, Arturo

AU - Benecke, Norbert

AU - Hofreiter, Michael

AU - Ludwig, Arne

AU - Graphodatsky, Alexander S.

AU - Peters, Joris

AU - Kiryushin, Kirill Yu

AU - Iderkhangai, Tumur Ochir

AU - Bokovenko, Nikolay A.

AU - Vasiliev, Sergey K.

AU - Seregin, Nikolai N.

AU - Chugunov, Konstantin V.

AU - Plasteeva, Natalya A.

AU - Baryshnikov, Gennady F.

AU - Petrova, Ekaterina

AU - Sablin, Mikhail

AU - Ananyevskaya, Elina

AU - Logvin, Andrey

AU - Shevnina, Irina

AU - Logvin, Victor

AU - Kalieva, Saule

AU - Loman, Valeriy

AU - Kukushkin, Igor

AU - Merz, Ilya

AU - Merz, Victor

AU - Sakenov, Sergazy

AU - Varfolomeyev, Victor

AU - Usmanova, Emma

AU - Zaibert, Viktor

AU - Arbuckle, Benjamin

AU - Belinskiy, Andrey B.

AU - Kalmykov, Alexej

AU - Reinhold, Sabine

AU - Hansen, Svend

AU - Yudin, Aleksandr I.

AU - Vybornov, Alekandr A.

AU - Epimakhov, Andrey

AU - Berezina, Natalia S.

AU - Roslyakova, Natalia

AU - Kosintsev, Pavel A.

AU - Kuznetsov, Pavel F.

AU - Anthony, David

AU - Kroonen, Guus J.

AU - Kristiansen, Kristian

AU - Wincker, Patrick

AU - Outram, Alan

AU - Orlando, Ludovic

N1 - Funding Information: 爀Casas del Turuñuelo 唀 r 堀 S 堀 Celestino 縀⼁瘁送騁崁騁er딁ida騁唀紀 S Aparqinu e嘀o lopgroiaje Mcts B  and B 唀 bao tdhe f unded by Junt Extremadura and European Regional Development Fund 缃唀 Funding Information: 爀Morin Mort 唀 Bor Shoroonii 唀 eerdegchingiin hoshuu 唀 uniui uGnokl h?angai 唀 Ulaan Tolgoi 圀 r 堀 J 堀 Bayarsaikhan 縁ခ紁om漁 t漁heḁ ခ騁崁紁瘁退 fr National Museum of Mongolia 唀 Ulaanbaatar 嘀 exported in  and under research agreement nb 缃唀 and Dr 堀 W 堀 Taylor 縀Fulbright US Student research award nb 唀 gNraatpiohnica ol uGnege oExplorer 嬁退 grant nb 爃缃唀 National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation ?mprovement Grant nb 缃? Funding Information: 爀Ganga 爀Tsagaan 爀Ereg 唀 hantain 爁騁紁쀃唀 Monostoy 爀NAurgzah a唀n 爃Ushk唀in 爀ChUinvgeer 唀爀 Tey 爀⼃唀 Hyena 阁退 Lair 唀 Novao 爀ilinVk a唀爀⼀⼀⼃唀 Novoilink Bijke 爀V 唀 Choburak 爀⼃唀 uyum 圀 r 堀 A 堀 Tishkin 唀n sDtrit 堀ute ? 堀of H?堀ist Norayz a唀ro Bv a ?rnaul University 嘀 project 爃o 爁爃⠁딁瘁ᨁḁᨀ c by CNRS and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research 缃唀 Funding Information: Acknowledgements We thank all members of the AGES group at CAGT. We are grateful for the Museum of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (UB RAS, Ekaterinburg) for providing specimens. The work by G. Boeskorov is done on state assignment of DPMGI SB RAS. This project was supported by the University Paul Sabatier IDEX Chaire d’Excellence (OURASI); Villum Funden miGENEPI research programme; the CNRS ‘Programme de Recherche Conjoint’ (PRC); the CNRS International Research Project (IRP AMADEUS); the France Génomique Appel à Grand Projet (ANR-10-INBS-09-08, BUCEPHALE project); IB10131 and IB18060, both funded by Junta de Extremadura (Spain) and European Regional Development Fund; Czech Academy of Sciences (RVO:67985912); the Zoological Institute ZIN RAS (АААА-А19-119032590102-7); and King Saud University Researchers Supporting Project (NSRSP–2020/2). The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (19-59-15001 and 20-04-00213), the Russian Science Foundation (16-18-10265, 20-78-10151, and 21-18-00457), the Government of the Russian Federation (FENU-2020-0021), the Estonian Research Council (PRG29), the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (PRG1209), the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (Project NF 104792), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Momentum Mobility Research Project of the Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities); and the Polish National Science Centre (2013/11/B/HS3/03822). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (grant agreement 797449). This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreements 681605, 716732 and 834616). Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).

PY - 2021/10/28

Y1 - 2021/10/28

N2 - Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare1. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc3. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia5 and Anatolia6, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association7 between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc8,9 driving the spread of Indo-European languages10. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture11,12.

AB - Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare1. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc3. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia5 and Anatolia6, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association7 between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc8,9 driving the spread of Indo-European languages10. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture11,12.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117498173&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85117498173&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9

DO - 10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9

M3 - Article

C2 - 34671162

AN - SCOPUS:85117498173

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 598

SP - 634

EP - 640

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7882

ER -

The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

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