The makeup of the modern horse: a history of the biological changes introduced by human management

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Modern human incursion into Neanderthal territories 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France

Publication . Slimak, Ludovic; Zanolli, Clément; Higham, Tom; Frouin, Marine; Schwenninger, Jean-Luc; Arnold, Lee J.; Demuro, Martina; Douka, Katerina; Mercier, Norbert; Guérin, Gilles; Valladas, Hélène; Yvorra, Pascale; Giraud, Yves; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Orlando, Ludovic; Lewis, Jason E.; Muth, Xavier; Camus, Hubert; Vandevelde, Ségolène; Buckley, Mike; Mallol, Carolina; Stringer, Chris; Metz, Laure

Determining the extent of overlap between modern humans and other hominins in Eurasia, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, is fundamental to understanding the nature of their interactions and what led to the disappearance of archaic hominins. Apart from a possible sporadic pulse recorded in Greece during the Middle Pleistocene, the first settlements of modern humans in Europe have been constrained to similar to 45,000 to 43,000 years ago. Here, we report hominin fossils from Grotte Mandrin in France that reveal the earliest known presence of modern humans in Europe between 56,800 and 51,700 years ago. This early modern human incursion in the Rhone Valley is associated with technologies unknown in any industry of that age outside Africa or the Levant. Mandrin documents the first alternating occupation of Neanderthals and modern humans, with a modern human fossil and associated Neronian lithic industry found stratigraphically between layers containing Neanderthal remains associated with Mousterian industries.

2022-02Journal article

Open access

The genomic history and global expansion of domestic donkeys

Publication . Todd, Evelyn T.; Tonasso-Calvière, Laure; Chauvey, Loreleï; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Fages, Antoine; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Clavel, Pierre; Khan, Naveed; Pérez Pardal, Lucía; Patterson Rosa, Laura; Librado, Pablo; Ringbauer, Harald; Verdugo, Marta; Southon, John; Aury, Jean-Marc; Perdereau, Aude; Vila, Emmanuelle; Marzullo, Matilde; Prato, Ornella; Tecchiati, Umberto; Bagnasco Gianni, Giovanna; Tagliacozzo, Antonio; Tinè, Vincenzo; Alhaique, Francesca; Luis Cardoso, João; Valente, Maria João; Telles Antunes, Miguel; Frantz, Laurent; Shapiro, Beth; Bradley, Daniel G.; Boulbes, Nicolas; Gardeisen, Armelle; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; Öztan, Aliye; Arbuckle, Benjamin S.; Onar, Vedat; Clavel, Benoît; Lepetz, Sébastien; Vahdati, Ali Akbar; Davoudi, Hossein; Mohaseb, Azadeh; Mashkour, Marjan; Bouchez, Olivier; Donnadieu, Cécile; Wincker, Patrick; Brooks, Samantha A.; Beja-Pereira, Albano; Wu, Dong-Dong; Orlando, Ludovic

Donkeys transformed human history as essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially across semi-arid and upland environments. They remain insufficiently studied despite globally expanding and providing key support to low- to middle-income communities. To elucidate their domestication history, we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids. We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa similar to 5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa. We uncover a previously unknown genetic lineage in the Levant similar to 200 BCE, which contributed increasing ancestry toward Asia. Donkey management involved inbreeding and the production of giant bloodlines at a time when mules were essential to the Roman economy and military.

2022-09Journal article

Open access