The Two Tales of Horse Domestication

A new study in “Nature” suggests that horses were domesticated twice. The first attempt failed, and only the second attempt, 1000 years later (around 2200 BCE), succeeded. More precisely, there were two lineages of domesticated horses, but only the later lineage, the one that exists today, dominated the world. The “original” lineage, called Botai horses (named after the Botai culture that tried to domesticate them), failed to become fully domesticated and reverted to being wild. Over the years, they evolved into the Przewalski’s horse, a breed of wild horse. The first domestication was for the purpose of using horses for milk and meat, while the second was for using horses as a working force and means of transportation. The implication: the Yamnaya culture, ancestors of the Indo-Europeans, who migrated westward, did not do so using horses and wagons as previously thought.

Mexican Indigenous Group Fights to Preserve Sacred Sites

The Huichol, or as they call themselves “Wixárika”, are a native people who live in the western Sierra Madre mountains. They are known for the “Peyote Hunt” ceremony they hold every year, a journey spanning hundreds of kilometers through the desert to a place called Wirikuta, passing through various sacred sites along the way. For the Wixárika, nature itself is sacred. Hills, caves, springs, rivers, rocks, and mountains serve as their temples. These natural sites are part of a sacred geography linked to their origin story. According to their origin story, the gods came from the Pacific Ocean, Tatéi Haramara, and during their journey, they transformed into mountains, bodies of water, wind, fire – everything that enables life on the planet – and created the world. The places where they stopped became natural sanctuaries. Analyzing the locations of these places reveals that they form a kind of structure resembling what they see and call the “Eye of God”.

A bit about Mexico’s geography to clarify: in the Americas, there is a chain of mountains (cordillera) that stretches the entire length of the continent, or more accurately, all three of its parts, along the Pacific Ocean. In Mexico specifically, this chain of mountains splits into several branches, all together called the “Sierra Madre”. There’s an eastern chain of mountains and a western one, and between them, there’s a semi-desert zone, meaning areas with sparse vegetation, which are ideal habitats for cacti, including the peyote.

Their relative isolation in the mountains in inaccessible areas has allowed them to preserve their religious traditions and relatively secure their language, as well as maintain autonomy both against Spanish colonizers and modern Mexico. But since mining activities have been discovered at the center of Mexico, it has become a central hub for mining, and for the natives who consider these places holy, a difficult problem has arisen because they are their religious properties.

From the Wixárika perspective, it’s about many square kilometers, including blocked access roads, areas that have been confiscated or sold to private individuals, and of course the mining industry, which not only affects their traditions and emotions but also the quality of the environment.

Although the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples entered into force in Mexico in 1991, the spirits of the natives still exist, as they do not really see how the country respects and preserves what they see as their lands, and the way they use them to preserve their culture. In response to their protest, a committee was formed to preserve their five main holy sites that make up their sacred geography, and several other indigenous peoples who share these territories also joined the proposal.

In the end, on August 9th, the president of Mexico signed a decree regulating 384 hectares as sacred sites, where no state actions that would harm them will take place. But the Wixárika still fear that the fact that many other places that actually maintain their tradition and were not included in the decree will ultimately lead to the death of their tradition. They also fear that the Mexican government will not respect the decree that imposes protections on their holy sites or will not be committed to it in the future.

One problematic place, for example, is that same island Tatéi Haramara, located off the coast of San Blas in the state of Nayarit. The place was sold to foreign businessmen. In January, the Mexican Ministry of Environment traveled to Tatéi Haramara to measure the sought-after area in a very partial decree (only 30% of the island’s area), and the weight of the decree has not yet been felt despite the decree, and the natives are worried. (source)