title: Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages.
abstract: Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wutke
authors.affiliation: German Archaeological Institute, Department of Natural Sciences, Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Benecke
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Edson
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sandoval-Castellanos
authors.affiliation: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, 06114 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Döhle
authors.affiliation: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, 06114 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Friederich
authors.affiliation: University of Potsdam, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: The Agricultural University of Iceland, Faculty of Land and Animal Resources, IS-112 Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Jón Hallsteinn
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hallsson
authors.affiliation: University of Potsdam, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hofreiter
authors.affiliation: Archaeological Research Collection, Tallinn University, Rüütli 10, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Lembi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lõugas
authors.affiliation: National Historical Museums, Contract Archaeology, 226 60 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Magnell
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Laboratory of Archaeozoology, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morales-Muniz
authors.affiliation: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, 1350K Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Orlando
authors.affiliation: The Agricultural University of Iceland, Faculty of Land and Animal Resources, IS-112 Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Albína Hulda
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Pálsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Humboldt University Berlin, Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reissmann
authors.affiliation: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, 949 21 Nitra, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Matej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruttkay
authors.affiliation: University of Potsdam, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trinks
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ludwig
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D000072441:DNA, Ancient / Q000032:analysis; D006736:Horses / Q000502:physiology*; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D010641:Phenotype; D010858:Pigmentation; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000072441:DNA, Ancient