The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking

2009/03/06 by Alan K. Outram, Natalie A. Stear, Robin Bendrey +5 · 727 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Ancient history #Animal Diversity and Health Studies #Archaeology #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Biology #Bronze Age #Chalcolithic #Domestication #Ecology #Geography #History #Horse #Meat and Animal Product Quality #Milking #Prehistory

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1168594

published in Science 323(5919), 1332-1335 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

openalex publication_date 2009/03/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02

Abstract

Horse domestication revolutionized transport, communications, and warfare in prehistory, yet the identification of early domestication processes has been problematic. Here, we present three independent lines of evidence demonstrating domestication in the Eneolithic Botai Culture of Kazakhstan, dating to about 3500 B.C.E. Metrical analysis of horse metacarpals shows that Botai horses resemble Bronze Age domestic horses rather than Paleolithic wild horses from the same region. Pathological characteristics indicate that some Botai horses were bridled, perhaps ridden. Organic residue analysis, using delta13C and deltaD values of fatty acids, reveals processing of mare's milk and carcass products in ceramics, indicating a developed domestic economy encompassing secondary products.

Citations

• Earliest date for milk use in the Near East and southeastern Europe linked to cattle herding
• Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse
• Widespread Origins of Domestic Horse Lineages

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• History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent [wikipedia]
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