The History of Anatolia : Every Year
Posted on 09/20/2020 10:24:00 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
For many years, scientists have believed that the horse was first domesticated in Anatolia approximately 5,500 years ago. Anatolia is the peninsula also known as Asia Minor; today it makes up most of Turkey. In this new effort, the researchers have found evidence that suggests that horses were actually first domesticated in the Eurasian Steppe and were exported to Anatolia approximately 4,000 years ago, during the Bronze Age.
The work involved obtaining and genetically analyzing 100 equid remains that had been found at eight sites in Anatolia and six in the Caucasus (a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea that is today mainly occupied by Armenia) dating back 2,500 to 11,000 years ago. Some of the remains were from domesticated horses, while others were from those that had remained wild. To learn more about their origins, the researchers conducted paleogenetic and morphological studies that included analysis of Y chromosome DNA, mitochondrial DNA and DNA markers that have previously been associated with coat color. Over time, domestication has led to changes in the coat color of horses. They found lineages present in modern domestic horses that appeared suddenly in 2,000 BCE horses (as opposed to showing up over time) which suggested that domestication had occurred elsewhere. A sharp change in coat colors also suggested horses had been brought to the region from somewhere else. The researchers suggest that the other location was likely north and west of the Caucasus, closer to the Black Sea -- the exact site is still unknown.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
And I thought Richard III had enough problems.
Anotolia so.
That was an interesting 12 minutes. Thank you.
Another great history post from our resident historian. Thanks.
Wind Horse People at roche de solutre may have domesticated horses 100,00ya
Anatolia never made much sense to me. Steppes of Eurasia is a whole lot more likely.
Everything happens on the steppes of Eurasia.
Moreso than Mesopotamia I am becoming convinced that the cradle of civilization began a bit North.
You might be right. Modern imaging technology is finding cities or large settlements in unexpected places all the time these days. Just because they haven’t yet found cities older than Sumer on the steppe doesn’t mean they won’t.
Gobleke Tepes has now yielded Human skull bones. Neolithic.
I've always thought horses were domesticated on the Eurasia Steppes.(Of course. done by Blacks)
Never heard any difference.
Anatolia has been proposed as the original home of the Proto-Indo-European speakers but that doesn't make much sense and is a minority opinion.
Yes, after their successful domestication of zebras, black Africans learned of a related species in Eurasia so came north to offer their expertise to those who wanted to domesticate the horse.
/s
BTW, pants were not invented until the horse was domesticated and horseback riding became common.
Mmmm not sure about that. I suppose it depends on what you call "Pants".
There were any number of non-riding societies in North America where they wore leggings.
Having your legs covered while going through brush is a major advantage.
" These days, pants are our garment of choice. But for years, our ancestors draped themselves in tunics, robes, and gowns, until someone decided they were tired of having the wind up their skirt. So, what prompted the change? When, exactly, did two-legged trousers become a thing? A recent archaeological discovery gives us a clue. Archaeologists Ulrike Beck and Mayke Wagner of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin excavated two ancient graves in a cemetery in Xinjiang, China and, among the remains, discovered two pairs of well-preserved woolen pants. Radiocarbon dating puts them at between 3000 and 3300 years old, making them the oldest-known pair of trousers ever discovered. This historical time period corresponds with the rise of “mobile pastoralism” in Central Asia—nomads began moving their herds across the land, and they did so on horseback. Tunics and robes weren’t comfortable or conducive to long, bumpy rides—and battles—so these ancient people innovated. They created pants."
Makes sense.
The Steppes were far enough away from the “civilized” center of gravity that declared riding horses undignified for royalty, and royalty being the only people of enough means to own and maintain horses.
And the distances to be traveled so great and the “amenities” along those travels so scarce that anything that sped up travel was a serious boon, in the Steppes.
yes
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