Asian Review of Books Ludovic Orlando, "Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Nov 20, 2025
Ludovic Orlando, a leading genetics researcher and director at the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, dives into the fascinating world of horse domestication. He reveals the origins of modern horses around 4,200 years ago in the Eurasian steppe and discusses the Botai culture's early but unsuccessful domestication attempts. With insights on the spread of domestic horses and the emergence of the Arabian breed, he also addresses the surprising decline in horse genetic diversity and the future of equine genetics through cloning and gene editing.
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Genomes Rewind Horse History
- DNA lets researchers trace horse family trees backward through millennia using ancient bones and teeth.
- Orlando used genome sequencing to locate the modern domestic horse origin around 4,200 years ago in the southwestern Russian steppe.
Botai Was A Failed First Attempt
- The Botai site showed early horse management but its horses left no genetic legacy in modern domestic breeds.
- Orlando concludes Botai represents an abortive early domestication, while the successful origin occurred ~4,200 years ago in southwestern Russia.
Rapid Global Spread From A Small Origin
- A tiny domestic bloodline that emerged in a limited region spread across Eurasia within a few centuries.
- The rapid adoption happened because mounted horses gave military and mobility advantages, forcing others to acquire them.
