But in my research, I'm not so concerned with the very first domestication of the horse and when and where it happened. I'm more interested in looking at the process—how it happened.
That's why I'm investigating the settlements of the Botai culture, located in northern Kazakhstan in Central Asia. The Botai people were probably not the first to tame and breed horses, but were certainly very early horse herders. They lived during what we called the Copper Age, about 5,500 years ago. It may not represent the very first example. But it does provide us with a lot of evidence for how the process of horse domestication began.