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SARGA.CO – A team of international scientists has uncovered historic migration patterns of horses between North America and Eurasia during the late Pleistocene epoch. This breakthrough emerged from an in-depth analysis of dozens of ancient horse fossils.
As reported by SARGA News via Discovermagazine.com, the findings were published in the journal Science by a global team of 18 researchers.
As global temperatures rose and land bridges became submerged, intercontinental migration came to a halt. This disrupted horse populations, leading to sharp declines in North America and reshaping ecosystems.
The researchers combined Indigenous knowledge of events near excavation sites with advanced scientific tools, offering new insights into the evolutionary journey of horses across continents and informing future conservation strategies.
The study noted that wild horses typically grazed in petal-like patterns around water sources. When vegetation was exhausted, herds would move on, repeating the pattern in new locations.
In doing so, horse behavior enriched the soil. Their manure often carried seeds that attracted insects and eventually sprouted into plant life.
When horses disappeared, this cycle broke down.
“In this way, horses don’t just respond to change—they become part of the change itself,” said Yvette Running Horse Collin, a Lakota Nation member, researcher at the University of Toulouse, France, and co-author of the study.
Collin believes these behaviors persist in modern horses, noting that herds still migrate across vast distances in response to environmental changes.
“As they move, they provide extraordinary services for all life forms. Wherever horses go, life follows,” she added.
Over the past 50,000 years, horses have been both catalysts and victims of environmental transformation.
The team analyzed the genomes of 67 ancient horse fossils found in Beringia, Siberia, and across the Americas, determining their ages using radiometric and isotopic dating and comparing them with existing genetic lineages.
The study revealed that horses once had greater genetic diversity during the late Pleistocene than today. It also found strong evidence of two-way migrations between continents.
For instance, some lineages in Siberia and Iberia contained genetic markers from North American horses.
The research also showed that the disappearance of land bridges wasn’t the only factor at play—climate change had a profound effect on population shifts.
As Earth transitioned from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, grasslands turned into wet, marshy tundra, making grazing and long-distance movement increasingly difficult for horses.
“To conserve horses effectively, we must also focus on conserving the broader web of life they depend on,” Collin concluded
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