摘要: Our analysis of horse skeletons from Shirenzigou and Xigou supports the presence of horseback riding in the eastern parts of the emerging Silk Road region by around 350 BCE (1). In their comments on our study, Shelach-Lavi et al. (2) point out that much of the significance of our discovery lies in its demarcation of the onset of cavalry warfare, a development that significantly transformed regional politics over the long term. We thank them for their comments. Shelach-Lavi et al. (2) observe that domesticated horses are present in the Chinese archaeological record by the late second millennium BCE, a fact which we agree is already established. Our paper focused not on … [↵][1]2To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: eurasiansteppes{at}126.com. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1