2009/04/23 by Arne Ludwig, Mélanie Pruvost, Monika Reißmann +9 · 4 citations
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Meat and Animal Product Quality #Identification and Quantification in Food
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1172750
openalex publication_date 2009/04/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
The transformation of wild animals into domestic ones available for human nutrition was a key prerequisite for modern human societies. However, no other domestic species has had such a substantial impact on the warfare, transportation, and communication capabilities of human societies as the horse. Here, we show that the analysis of ancient DNA targeting nuclear genes responsible for coat coloration allows us to shed light on the timing and place of horse domestication. We conclude that it is unlikely that horse domestication substantially predates the occurrence of coat color variation, which was found to begin around the third millennium before the common era.