Horse Domestication Wildlife Ecology Essay

The purpose of this study was to investigate not so much the exact date of domestication of the horse, moreover what are the Origin of the domesticated horse and what is its relationship with the Wild horse of prehistoric times. Background Since the process of domestication inherently takes many generations over a long period of time, and the spread of breed and husbandry techniques is also slow, it is not meaningful to give a single "date of domestication". There are claims for Horse Domestication as early as 4,500 BC in Iberia and the Eurasian Steppe. The earliest undisputed evidence is chariot burials dating to from 200BC from Krivoe Ozero. (Sintashta – Petrovka Culture) on the Ural Steppe. Here horses were found accompanied by artefacts in graves – artefacts we would associate with riding or traction. (Levine, 1999) Various different theories have been postulated as to best estimate the earliest date of domestication. Uerpuann (1990) investigated the domestication of the horse in the West and Middle Europe. He concluded that a decreasing size and an increase in Heterogenity are taken as proof of domestication. However Levine (2006) disputed that the anatomy of the Equines has remained the same. Furthermore the large wild herds of horses that existed during the late Pleistocene in Europe, Asia and North America also exhibited heterogeneity. (Kavor and Dovc, 2008). Another weak theory was that increased relative abundance of horses ( and horse remains) could indicate domestication. On the otherhand it could merely explained by increased hunting. Tooth morphology alone was considered an important analytic method. Horse teeth remains were studied at 2 Eneolithic sites, Botai in Northern Kazakhstan and Dereivka in the Urkraine (Year 35000-3000 BC). Bevelings on the anterior part of the lower P2 masticatory surface were found (Levine, 1999). However this does not clearly indicate horses were ridden at this time. In fact the horses can be ridden without bits and also the upper 2nd premolar can cause abnormal occlusions on the lower 2nd premolar tooth. Therefore teeth occlusions alone does not provide enough information