Only a few key changes have revolutionized human history, and the domestication of the horse is one of them. Horseback riding allowed humans to travel well above our own speed, spreading genes, diseases, and culture over vast geographical regions. The development of cavalry was paramount to the battlefield for years, and many conquerors—such as Alexander the Great and Genghis Kahn—are remembered as exceptional horse masters, and some of their horses, such as Bucephalus, are no less legendary.

The earliest archaeological evidence of horse domestication comes from some 5,500 years ago in the steppes of Central Asia, where the Botai people associated engaged with the horse like no one before. Past research suggested that all modern domestic horses descend from the horses that were first domesticated at Botai and that only one population of truly wild horses survived: the Przewalski’s horse, native to the Mongolian steppes. However, a new international study led by Ludovic Orlando, PhD, has revealed that that it is unlikely to be the case, changing the current view on the origins of modern horses.

“There is a lot of evidence in the archaeological record demonstrating that Botai horses were husbanded”, says Alan Outram, BA, MSc, PhD, MCIfA, FSA, professor of archaeological science at the University of Exeter, in the U.K.

Outram and Victor Zaibert, PhD, carried out archaeological excavations at Botai for over two decades and have discovered unambiguous signs of domestication. Some of the horse teeth excavated show traces of bit wear, suggesting that at least some of the horses were harnessed. Isotopic analysis of the fat residues in pottery shows evidence of horse milking