The genomic history of Iberian horses since the last Ice Age.

• Author(s): Garrido, Jaime Lira ; Tressières, Gaétan ; Chauvey, Lorelei ; Schiavinato, Stéphanie ; Calvière-Tonasso, Laure ; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine ; Southon, John ; Shapiro, Beth ; Bataille, Clément ; Birgel, Julie ; Wagner, Stefanie ; Khan, Naveed ; Liu, Xuexue ; Rodanés, José María ; Picazo Millán, Jesús V. ; Giralt, Josep ; Alonso, Natàlia ; Aguilera, Isidro ; Orsingher, Adriano ; Trentacoste, Angela ; Payà, Xavier ; Morán, Marta ; Iborra Eres, María Pilar ; Albizuri, Silvia ; Valenzuela Lamas, Silvia ; Mestres Santandreu, Imma ; Duran Caixal, Montserrat ; Principal, Jordi ; Farré Huguet, Jordi ; Esteve, Xavier ; Pedro Pasqual, Mireia ; Sala, Nohemi ; Pablos, Adrián ; Martín, Patricia ; Vergès, Josep Maria ; Portero, Rodrigo ; Arias, Pablo ; Ontañón Peredo, Roberto ; Detry, Cleia ; Luís, Cristina ; Cardoso, João Luis ; Maeir, Aren M. ; Valente, Maria João ; Grau, Elena ; Estall I Poles, Vicent ; Alfonso Llorens, Joaquín ; Miguélez González, Ana ; Gardeisen, Armelle ; Cupitò, Michele ; Tecchiati, Umberto ; Bradley, Daniel G. ; Kolska Horwitz, Liora ; Rodríguez González, Esther ; Nieto Espinet, Ariadna ; Bover, Pere ; Ruiz Entrecanales, Rosa ; Garcés Estallo, Ignasi ; Jiménez Fragoso, Joaquín ; Celestino, Sebastián ; Orlando, Ludovic
• Date: 2025
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/27713
• Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Sapientia

Description

Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas.