Botai - Cradle of Mounted Horse Culture

In 1980, near Kokshetau, Kazakhstani archaeologist Viktor Seibert discovered the remains of an ancient settlement, and since then it has been systematically excavated. What has been uncovered is a sensational discovery. The Botai (Botay) culture, named after the location of the site, was a semi-nomadic civilization that, approximately 5,500 years ago, first domesticated wild horses. This is noteworthy as it is the earliest evidence of this in human history, and is 1,000 years earlier than had previously been supposed! During the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages the climate in this region was milder, grass grew up to two metres high and millions of wild horses lived on the Eurasian steppe. It is thought that horses were originally tamed to enable the hunting of their wild kin. The research findings of the Kazakhstani archaeologists and their UK and US colleagues suggest the Botai horses were used both for riding and for food. The excavation site should be developed into a museum complex over the next few years, to illustrate the enormous significance of the domestication of the horse on the development of humankind