Controversy over the origin of domesticated horses

According to studies, 6,000 years ago, horses were domesticated in the fields of Ukraine, the southwest of Russia and the western region of Kazakhstan.

>>>Small horses like . cats

Later, the breed was replicated in Europe and Asia and bred with wild horses in many different regions.

A research team from Cambridge University recently came up with this conclusion about the origin of horses today. This study, published in the journal PNAS, has caused a strong debate in the scientific world.

Archaeological evidence shows that horses are domesticated in the fields of Ukraine, southwest Russia and the western region of Kazakhstan, which is contiguous between Asia and Europe. Experts say they were then used as a vehicle and a source of human meat and milk. One of the most convincing evidence is that horse milk traces are found in pots of ancient people living in this region.

However, surprisingly, these archaeological clues contradict the evidence obtained from studying horse DNA. The research results show that horses are domesticated in many parts of Europe and Asia, not only in the contiguous region of Asia and Europe.

Scientists sampled DNA from 300 horses in 8 European and Asian countries. Genetic data is fed into the computer for processing and gives different results about the domestication process of these horses.

Dr. Vera Warmuth, of the University of Cambridge Department of Biology, said: 'It indicates that the domesticated horse originated from the western border of Asia and Europe but then, in the process of spreading, it has added the genes of many other wild horses across two continents.

This study explains why in horse DNA today - inherited only from mother horses, contains the genes of horses in many different places. The truth is that domesticated breeds have been bred with many other wild horses because in captivity, domestic horses can hardly mate.

Przewalski wild horses are considered the nearest ancestor of horses in the world today. This is a horse originating in the Mongolian steppe region, currently only a few dozen live wild in the Shara Nuru Tachin Mountains and raised, preserved in some large zoos.

Reference: BBC