Science Reveals When Horses Were First Domesticated

It is common to hear that dogs are man’s best friend, referring to the relationship between canines and humans. However, historically, the animal closest to us is the horse. This is because it was thanks to them that we were able to travel long distances and explore new territories in the past.

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However, there are still doubts about when humans actually began to domesticate this horse. But recently, this issue has been resolved with the discovery of the historical relationship with horses. Text containing information from Communications.

The relationship between humans and horses clearly dates back to prehistoric times. (Image: Getty Images)

However, humans domesticated the horse around 4000 BC. (Image: Rebecca’s photo, Pixabay)

With the horse, humans were able to make longer journeys. (Photo: Studio Mikara, Getty Images)

The horse was also of great importance in the conquest of lands. (Image: Michel Collection)

Cultural and linguistic exchange was another major advance that came with travel. (Photo: Jonathas Cardoso, Pexels)

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The beginning of the relationship between man and horse

First, since prehistoric times, there has been contact between our species and horses. However, this beginning was far from peaceful. That’s because, according to University of Colorado Boulder archaeologist Willian Taylor, humans hunted horses with wooden spears. Much of this is due to the use of horse bones in primitive tools.

Moreover, the horse was one of the favorite animals of Paleolithic artists. Many people may not know, but these are the most represented animals in Eurasian rock art.

Hypotheses for domestication

According to Taylor, who has written a special book on horse domestication, there are several hypotheses about the beginning of horse domestication. It moved from China to the Americas. However, the most complete hypothesis discovered so far is the Indo-European domestication hypothesis.

According to the expert, around 4000 BC, people from the steppe region of western Asia built high burial mounds called “kurgans”. Thus, the Yamnaya used horses to climb and descend these mountains.

Ultimately, the main evidence for this domestication comes from the discovery of dental bones by archaeologists in the Botai region of Kazakhstan. These fossils date to exactly the period covered by the Indo-European hypothesis.

The importance of horses

Finally, horses have been of great importance to humanity. According to the American Museum of Natural History, the main influences of horses are as follows:

• Trips: Horses made long journeys possible, facilitating language exchange, cultural exchange, and business;
• Land invasion: Cavalry was much stronger than infantry armies, which is why it made it easier to conquer lands and form empires;
• agriculture: Horses helped farmers by roaming and helping to cultivate larger areas of land.

*The text is adapted from an article by William Taylor, Curator of Archaeology at the University of Colorado Boulder, which was published in The Conversation, under a free republishing license.

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