For nearly a century, scholars have debated when humans first began using domesticated horses. A new study now argues that people were riding and managing horses across the Eurasian steppes nearly 6,000 years ago, far earlier than some recent genetic studies had suggested.
The research, led by archaeologist David Anthony and published in Science Advances, challenges claims that effective horse domestication only began around 2200 BCE with the rise of chariots. Instead, researchers argue that horse riding and human management of horses started much earlier, possibly as far back as 3500 BCE.
Evidence from Kazakhstan points to early horse management
The study focuses on evidence from the Eurasian steppes, especially areas linked to the Yamnaya culture and the earlier Botai settlements in modern-day Kazakhstan. Researchers reviewed ancient horse DNA, archaeological remains, riding-related injuries in human skeletons, and signs of horse milking and breeding.
At the Botai sites, dated between about 3500 and 3100 BCE, horses made up almost all animal remains found by archaeologists. Researchers said the animals were likely corralled, milked, butchered, and possibly ridden. Horse teeth from the site also showed wear patterns similar to those created by rope bits used in riding.
Yamnaya riders may have helped reshape Eurasia
The study also points to evidence from Yamnaya communities that spread across the Pontic-Caspian steppes around 3200 to 2600 BCE. Researchers found that some Yamnaya people consumed horse milk and buried horse remains in ritual graves. Human skeletons from Yamnaya burial sites in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary also showed physical changes linked to long-term horseback riding.
According to the researchers, the horses connected to the Yamnaya people belonged to a genetic group known as “DOM2.” That lineage later became the ancestor of most modern domesticated horses. The team argued that the rapid migration of Yamnaya groups across thousands of kilometers of steppe land was likely helped by horseback riding, not only by wagons, as some scholars have claimed.
Researchers challenge recent domestication timeline
The paper also disputes recent arguments that horse domestication happened suddenly after genetic changes made horses calmer and easier to ride around 2200 BCE. Researchers instead describe domestication as a long process that unfolded over centuries in several regions at once.
The findings could reshape understanding of how early mobility changed ancient societies. Researchers said horseback riding likely helped connect distant communities across Eurasia long before mounted warfare became common.
They added that riding may initially have served practical purposes such as herding animals, traveling long distances, and managing growing pastoral economies. Only later, around 1200 BCE, did new bow technologies turn mounted riders into major military forces across the ancient world
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