​The first riders in the world appeared on the territory of Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary ● Where and when did grapes first begin to be cultivated? ● Too many good genes can cause a population to collapse

The first riders in the world appeared on the territory of Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary

At least this is stated in a study conducted at the initiative of the University of Helsinki and published in the journal Science Advances. In addition, it would also solve a still unanswered question, i.e. where exactly horses were first used for riding in history.

Old hypotheses claimed that the mentioned practice originated either in Kazakhstan, or in modern Ukraine, or in the Iberian Peninsula, but none of them was generally recognized by the scientific community. In the case of this study, according to its authors, we have the earliest indirect evidence of the practice of horse riding.

During the observations, 217 skeletons from 39 sites in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, skeletons belonging to the Yamnai or pre-Yamnai culture, were taken into account. To clarify, this culture appeared about 3300 years ago through the Ponto-Caspian steppe, that is, to the north and east of the Black Sea, its carriers later migrated to the west of the Black Sea.

As the authors of the study specify, the starting point of the study was a human skeleton approximately 2879-2633 years ago, discovered in the town of Strejnik, Prahova County. Later, 39 monuments from Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary were analyzed, about 150 skeletons out of 219 examined were associated with the mentioned culture.

Specialists analyzed possible changes in the pelvis, femurs or vertebrae of the respective individuals typical of riders. Of these, 24 were found to be categorized as “probable” riders, while 15 were “very likely” riders. This, by the way, is the oldest evidence of the use of horses for this purpose.

The result, however, is not set in stone. A grave dating to about 6,300 years ago, discovered in Csongrad-Kettoshalomin, Hungary, has provided evidence supporting the adoption of the practice of horseback riding millennia before the Yamnaya culture. But, as Finnish researchers point out, one case cannot be used to prove a case. Certainly, further research is needed. As long as the problems do not change, it can be said that the local area has a good chance of giving the world the first riders in history.

Where and when were grapes first grown?

If the paradigm of the origin of horsemen was partially solved by Finnish researchers, then British researchers from the University of Warwick decided to solve another urgent problem – the domestication of grapes. And, as they write in the journal Science, they really did.

Their work involved the analysis of 2,448 grape samples from 23 locations in 16 countries, i.e. both wild and domesticated grapes. Based on this database, the Warwick scientists identified two possible points of origin for grape domestication. And no, this time the territory of Romania did not enter the final equation.

The process of domestication seems to have started around 11,000 years ago in the Caucasus and also somewhere in Western Asia. The information is to some extent logical, if we take into account that at this time the seeds of agriculture also appear. In addition, the oldest traces of winemaking, some dating back around 9,000 years, come from Georgia.

It is likely that the domestication of grapes was soon followed by the production of wine, which places the origin of the latter about two thousand years earlier than originally thought. According to British scientists, table grapes appeared at the same time.

And this information solves another problem. More precisely, until now it was believed that grapes were cultivated for the first time precisely in order to make wine from them. However, it seems that not everyone drinks wine during this period. Some also preferred table grapes. And all this also came from the Black Sea, only from the east.

Too many good genes can cause a population to collapse

A somewhat dubious study was recently published in the journal PNAS. The study, co-authored by Swiss and British researchers, says nothing more, nothing less, that too many positive genes can have a detrimental effect on a population, perhaps even leading to its collapse.

For example, the cited experts claim, males are genetically programmed to fight for females. Or, depending on the circumstances, to impress them. Whether it’s the development of fighting skills, plumage, colors, body size, etc., males must differentiate to pass on their genes. And the competition reveals those males who are in optimal physical shape, who are prone to as few diseases as possible, who have, in short, the best genes. So where is the problem?

The problem, the researchers say, is that passing on the optimal genes will increase competition, and that will hurt the females. For example, some male insects have reproductive organs so large that they kill females. This is not the case with mammals, but in this case too violent males end up injuring and even killing the females.

In short, these good genes will bring with them individualistic traits, and this will lead to a possible reduction in the size of the population, even to its collapse, as I said. I also said earlier that the research is a bit questionable. why Well, that negates the very essence of natural selection. Obviously, the implications are far greater, but even these researchers have not produced a single species that went extinct because of too many good genes. So everything remains at the hypothetical level.

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