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May 16 2025
2A new international study has uncovered a remarkable story hidden in the ancient DNA of horses, revealing a history of repeated two-way migrations between North America and Eurasia and significant population declines driven by climate shifts during the Late Pleistocene. This collaborative research—led by 57 scientists, including 18 Indigenous researchers from the Lakota, sqilxʷ (suknaqin/Okanagan Nation), Blackfoot, Dene' (Athabascan), and Iñupiaq Nations—emphasizes the powerful role that horses have played in ecosystems and human cultures for millennia.
Horses originated in North America approximately four million years ago and eventually spread into Eurasia via land bridges formed by fluctuating sea levels. This new study, published in Science under the title “Sustainability insights from late Pleistocene climate change and horse migration patterns”, confirms that these migrations occurred in both directions multiple times, continuing as recently as the last Glacial period between 50,000 and 19,000 years ago.
By integrating state-of-the-art DNA sequencing, isotope geochemistry, and Indigenous scientific knowledge, researchers offer a deeper understanding of how environmental changes impacted the movement, survival, and diversity of megaherbivore species, particularly horses.
Horses have long held a foundational place in the scientific systems and cultural lifeways of many Indigenous Peoples. “We understand the Horse Nation to be a keystone species that, together with the other life forms with which it shares relationality, brings balance to the ecosystem,” said Chief Harold Left Heron, a Lakota Nation knowledge keeper and traditional scientist. He emphasized that this study reflects the strength of combining multiple knowledge systems to support global biodiversity conservation efforts.
The Dene’ People also contribute traditional knowledge of The Medicine Man Trail, a corridor that once linked the Americas and Eurasia, through which horses and other species migrated, exchanged, and adapted. “This knowledge is held in our songs, stories, and the sciences we carry,” noted Wilson Justin, a Dene’ Elder of the Alth'setnay clan. “Singing the song of life ensures that the world is balanced.”
Genomic analysis of 68 horse specimens from Late Pleistocene deposits in North America and Eurasia played a central role in the findings. Dr. Ludovic Orlando, director at the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, explained that ancient DNA is especially well-preserved in cold regions such as Alaska, Yukon, and Siberia, offering an ideal resource to trace the history of these populations.
The research team, building on nearly 15 years of prior genomic work, used the latest sequencing technologies—along with Lakota scientific genomic frameworks—to uncover greater diversity among ancient horse lineages. Previous findings primarily focused on domestication and dispersal, but this new work shines a light on the broader ecological and migratory history of the species.
Dr. Yvette Running Horse Collin, a Lakota scientist who led genome lab work for the study, revealed that three genetically distinct horse lineages existed in North America during the Late Pleistocene: one south of the ice sheets, another across Alaska and the Yukon, and a third along the westernmost edge of Alaska. The latter lineage, it turns out, originated in Eurasia and crossed into North America via the Bering land bridge. Evidence shows that this bridge was traversed many times between 50,000 and 19,000 years ago.
Remarkably, horses also migrated in the opposite direction during earlier epochs, moving along coastal routes into northeastern China and leaving genetic imprints as far west as Anatolia and the Iberian Peninsula, extending well into the Holocene.
The study also examined post-glacial horse populations in Yukon, where warming climates transformed the ecosystem from steppe-tundra to wetter landscapes. “These horses lived within the Ice-Free Corridor at a time of ecological transition,” said Professor Clément Bataille from the University of Ottawa, who led the isotope analysis component. This environmental shift significantly impacted horse populations, contributing to their decline.
Elder Jane Stelkia of the sqilxʷ (Okanagan Nation) shared that this work aligns with her People's understanding of Snklc'askaxa—the Horse Nation—as a source of knowledge and resilience. “It is time that we come together again to help life move safely through change,” she stated.
The study underscores the importance of ecological corridors that support species migration and adaptation—an urgent message for today's rapidly changing climate. Chief Joe American Horse of the Lakota Nation emphasized the concept of yutaŋ'kil, meaning “life moves with its ecosystem,” as central to applying these findings toward current conservation efforts.
With contributions from the University of Ottawa’s isotope laboratories and a commitment to integrating Indigenous and Western science, the study offers a compelling model for addressing today’s biodiversity crisis and guiding future environmental research.
Source:https://phys.org/news/2025-05-late-pleistocene-horse-dna-uncovers.html
This is non-financial/medical advice and made using AI so could be wrong.
