Overview

• Scientists analyzed 475 ancient and 77 modern horse genomes to trace domestication history.
• First domestication by the Botai culture 5,500 years ago focused on milk and meat, not transportation.
• Modern horse lineage emerged in the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, rapidly spreading across Eurasia by 2,200 BCE.
• Breeding practices changed to halve generation times, boosting horse production.
• Findings challenge previous theories about horse domestication and early human migrations.