Genetic markers of domestication (some features of interpretation of laboratory data of paleogenetic researches)

Abstract

The paper reviews the findings of two research groups, published in the journal Nature, that focus on the genetic aspects of horses domestication in the Bronze Age. Creating coherence and overcoming the contradictions between the data of paleogenetics and archeology through meta-description, which is based on the prevalence of selection, turns into the some controversial conclusions, including: extrapolation caused by the transfer of anthropomorphic characteristics to the physiological characteristics of the horse and the reduction of actors of social processes to genetic markers. In the context of articles on medical genetics and sociology of science, it is proposed to overcome controversies through a change in the optics of analysis of genetic data in the problem of domestication: rejection of the meta-description of the researching phenomena and the actualization of the logic of meeting social needs and mutational variability preceding domestication. In addition, the paper deals with the problem of interpreting the genetic data of horse domestication only as a hypothesis. The problem is that there is a significant chronological gap of 500-700 years between genetic ancestors and genuine domestic horses (Dom-2). This period includes such significant archaeological cultures as Abashevskaya, post-Poltavka Volga-Ural and others.