Lira Garrido, JaimeTressières, GaétanChauvey, LoreleïSchiavinato, StéphanieCalvière-Tonasso, LaureSeguin-Orlando, AndaineSouthon, JohnShapiro, BethBataille, ClémentPablos Fernández, Adrián2025-10-272025-10-272025-08-02Lira Garrido, J., Tressières, G., Chauvey, L., Schiavinato, S., Calvière-Tonasso, L., Seguin-Orlando, A., Southon, J., Shapiro, B., Bataille, C., Birgel, J., Wagner, S., Khan, N., Liu, X., Rodanés, J. M., Picazo Millán, J. V., Giralt, J., Alonso, N., Aguilera, I., Orsingher, A., … Orlando, L. (2025). The genomic history of Iberian horses since the last Ice Age. Nature Communications, 16(1), 7098. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62266-z10.1038/s41467-025-62266-zhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125439Horses 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.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/journal article2041-1723https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62266-zhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62266-zopen access599.723:575(46)PaleontologíaGenética2416.05 Paleontología de Los Vertebrados2409.03 Genética de Poblaciones