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200,000-Year-Old Horse DNA
March 8 , 2026
15 hrs 0 min
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- Scientists discovered 200,000-year-old horse DNA at the Schöningen archaeological site in Lower Saxony, Germany.
- The DNA was identified as belonging to Equus mosbachensis, an extinct horse species from the Middle Pleistocene epoch.
- The Schöningen site is also famous for 300,000-year-old wooden hunting spears, some of the oldest known hunting weapons.
- Scientists earlier believed such ancient DNA could survive only in permafrost or frozen regions.
- The DNA survived because the sediments had low oxygen (anaerobic conditions) and carbonate-rich minerals, which slowed the decay of genetic material.
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