The domestication of cattle was one of the most significant developments in human history, as cattle were the largest domesticated mammals and the first to provide humans with products such as regular and abundant supplies of meat, milk, hides for clothing and leather, glue from horns, revenue sources, transportation power, even sacred objects, and mobile units for combat. Cattle more than equaled smaller livestock, such as goats and sheep as resource providers for humans, and matched horses as beasts of burden. Currently, there are over 1000 breeds of domestic cattle, numbering over 900 million animals. The ancestry of domestic cattle is well documented, but the ecology of cattle, which evolved from the ecology of wild cattle, is less understood. However, this relationship is becoming increasingly important as livestock predators, mostly charismatic large carnivores, are increasingly protected and are repopulating preexisting habitats. Therefore, there is significant conflict between agriculturists, for whom cattle are a vital resource, and environmentalists and conservationists, for whom the protection of large carnivores is a global concern and an existential right. Such conflicts are increasing with growing human populations and shared exploitation of limited land resources, the increasing polarization of global and domestic geopolitics, and increasing interest group participation through the global media. This chapter provides a background to these issues by examining the process of cattle domestication from the ancient breeds and the slow process by which domestic breeds spread over the human-inhabited world. Current research suggests that cattle breeds are descended from the wild aurochs Bos primigenius (Bojanus, 1825) in southwest Asia, which later interbreed with other species, taurine cattle (Bos taurus, Linnaeus, 1758) in western Eurasia, and zebu indicine cattle (Bos indicus, Linnaeus, 1758) in south, southeastern and east Asia, and later Africa. Later inbreeding has been documented between the auroch/domesticated cattle breeds and other wild species, such as gaur, banteng, water buffalo, and yak in Asia, European aurochs and bison in Europe, and to a lesser extent American bison in North America. It is concluded that knowledge of the problems of cattle domestication is critical to the current scenarios of political, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental cooperation and conflict that enable and constrain more effective sustainable development.

Cattle Ancestry, Domestication and Carnivores

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发表日期：

2025年

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Michael O’Neal Campbell

摘要

The domestication of cattle was one of the most significant developments in human history, as cattle were the largest domesticated mammals and the first to provide humans with products such as regular and abundant supplies of meat, milk, hides for clothing and leather, glue from horns, revenue sources, transportation power, even sacred objects, and mobile units for combat. Cattle more than equaled smaller livestock, such as goats and sheep as resource providers for humans, and matched horses as beasts of burden. Currently, there are over 1000 breeds of domestic cattle, numbering over 900 million animals. The ancestry of domestic cattle is well documented, but the ecology of cattle, which evolved from the ecology of wild cattle, is less understood. However, this relationship is becoming increasingly important as livestock predators, mostly charismatic large carnivores, are increasingly protected and are repopulating preexisting habitats. Therefore, there is significant conflict between agriculturists, for whom cattle are a vital resource, and environmentalists and conservationists, for whom the protection of large carnivores is a global concern and an existential right. Such conflicts are increasing with growing human populations and shared exploitation of limited land resources, the increasing polarization of global and domestic geopolitics, and increasing interest group participation through the global media. This chapter provides a background to these issues by examining the process of cattle domestication from the ancient breeds and the slow process by which domestic breeds spread over the human-inhabited world. Current research suggests that cattle breeds are descended from the wild aurochs Bos primigenius (Bojanus, 1825) in southwest Asia, which later interbreed with other species, taurine cattle (Bos taurus, Linnaeus, 1758) in western Eurasia, and zebu indicine cattle (Bos indicus, Linnaeus, 1758) in south, southeastern and east Asia, and later Africa. Later inbreeding has been documented between the auroch/domesticated cattle breeds and other wild species, such as gaur, banteng, water buffalo, and yak in Asia, European aurochs and bison in Europe, and to a lesser extent American bison in North America. It is concluded that knowledge of the problems of cattle domestication is critical to the current scenarios of political, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental cooperation and conflict that enable and constrain more effective sustainable development.