Coat Color Variation at the Beginning of Horse Domestication

摘要

The transformation of wild animals into domestic ones was a key prerequisite for modern human societies (1). A variety of species have been domesticated, but no species has had such an impact on warfare, transportation, and communication capability as the horse. Despite its importance for human history, the time and place of horse domestication have remained enigmatic for a long time (2, 3). Recently, evidence was found for horse domestication having occurred in Kazakhstan about 5500 years before the present (yr B.P.) (4). Genetic studies have shown that coat color variation arose rapidly during domestication, resulting from human selection (5).