Garrido, Jaime LiraTressières, GaétanChauvey, LoreleiSchiavinato, StéphanieCalvière-Tonasso, LaureSeguin-Orlando, AndaineSouthon, JohnShapiro, BethBataille, ClémentBirgel, JulieWagner, StefanieKhan, NaveedLiu, XuexueRodanés, José MaríaMillán, Jesús V. PicazoGiralt, JosepAlonso, NatàliaAguilera, IsidroOrsingher, AdrianoTrentacoste, AngelaPayà, XavierMorán, MartaEres, María Pilar IborraAlbizuri, SilviaLamas, Silvia ValenzuelaSantandreu, Imma MestresCaixal, Montserrat DuranPrincipal, JordiHuguet, Jordi FarréEsteve, XavierPasqual, Mireia PedroSala, NohemiPablos, AdriánMartín, PatriciaVergès, Josep MariaPortero, RodrigoArias, PabloPeredo, Roberto OntañónDetry, CleiaLuís, CristinaCardoso, João LuisMaeir, Aren M.Valente, Maria J.Grau, ElenaPoles, Vicent Estall iLlorens, Joaquín AlfonsoGonzález, Ana MiguélezGardeisen, ArmelleCupitò, MicheleTecchiati, UmbertoBradley, Daniel G.Horwitz, Liora KolskaGonzález, Esther RodríguezEspinet, Ariadna NietoBover, PereEntrecanales, Rosa RuizEstallo, Ignasi GarcésFragoso, Joaquín JiménezCelestino, SebastiánOrlando, Ludovic2025-08-052025-08-052025-08-02http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/20163Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas.engAnimal breedingArchaeologyEvolutionary biologyEvolutionary geneticsHistoryjournal article10.1038/s41467-025-62266-z2041-1723