Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40837235›Full record

ArticleiScience2025

Late Iron Age and Roman equine breeding north of the Alps: Genetic insights and cultural implications.

Muhammad Bilal Sharif, Azadeh Fatemeh Mohaseb, Ludovic Orlando, Konstantina Saliari, Günther Karl Kunst, Sigrid Czeika, Marjan Mashkour, Thomas Cucchi, Joris Peters, Simon Trixl and 1 more

Abstract read
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Article in iScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Muhammad Bilal SharifCentre for Palaeogenetics, Svante Arrhenius väg 20C, 10 691 Stockholm, Sweden.
Azadeh Fatemeh MohasebArchéozoologie, Archéobotanique (AASPE), Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
Ludovic OrlandoCentre d'Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse, CNRS UMR 5288, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Konstantina SaliariHuman Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Günther Karl KunstHuman Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Sigrid CzeikaInstitute for Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Marjan MashkourArchéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, AASPE UMR 7209, CNRS/Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
Thomas CucchiArchéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, AASPE UMR 7209, CNRS/Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
Joris PetersArchaeoBioCenter and Institute of Palaeoanatomy, Domestication Research and the History of Veterinary Medicine and ArchaeoBioCenter, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Simon TrixlArchaeoBioCenter and Institute of Palaeoanatomy, Domestication Research and the History of Veterinary Medicine and ArchaeoBioCenter, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Elmira MohandesanDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Roman conquest of the northern Alpine foreland in 15 BCE introduced larger-sized horses and hybrid mules to the region. To investigate their genetic profiles and influence on local breeding, we analyzed our previously generated shallow shotgun DNA data from 402 Late Iron Age and Roman equids, supplemented with mitochondrial and nuclear capture data from 40 to 31 equids from the same regions and periods. Late Iron Age and Roman horses exhibit high matrilineal diversity, with unique haplogroups in the latter indicating exogenous animals. The preferred use of male mounts in army service mentioned in historical writings is confirmed. The absence of donkey jacks in our study area and the lack of mule matrilineal lineages unique to Late Iron Age horses contradict local hybrid breeding. Alleles associated with speed, endurance, or rare coat colors have not been identified, nor has a genetic basis for the larger body size of Roman horses, although illustrated by archaeozoological and historical data.

Indexed as

ArcheologyEquine geneticsPaleogenetics

Identifiers

PMID40837235
PMCPMC12362026

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.