10 Aug 2015
Sara Pedersen
Job Title
Figure 2. The complete skeleton of an aurochs.
As a strong believer in the benefits of pain relief in cattle, I have spent a lot of time educating farmers as to what these are.
Discussion invariably involves the stoical nature of cattle and how this originated on the plains of Africa when they were prey animals and therefore more likely to be fodder for the roaming lion pride if they showed any signs of weakness. Thus, following Darwinian theory, it is in their genetic make-up to “hide” pain.
However, a recent conversation with an archaeologist challenged this theory as I was informed all cattle were descendants of aurochs and they certainly weren’t to be messed with.
So, when, where and from what did the modern domestic cow originate?
The development of agriculture was a turning point in human history and at the centre of this was the domestication of cattle. This allowed migratory hunter-gatherer populations to become sedentary farming societies, with the security of an abundant food supply allowing growth of the population. Cattle not only provided an important source of milk, meat and hides, but also power (Figure 1).
The ability to domesticate the aurochs was a significant achievement and one supported by a description given by Julius Caesar in his 3BC publication of The Gallic War:
“[They are] a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, colour, and shape of a bull. Their strength and speed are extraordinary; they spare neither man nor wild beast which they have espied… but not even when taken very young can they be rendered familiar to men and tamed.”
Although this may appear an exaggerated description, the aurochs was indeed a fearsome animal with a very aggressive nature. It was one of the largest herbivores in post-glacial Europe, with bulls reaching a height of up to 180cm at the shoulders and 1,500kg in weight (Figure 2).
As with domestic cattle, sexual dimorphism was strongly apparent, with cows being comparatively smaller and lighter. However, in contrast to modern cattle, they had much longer, slender legs, which created their impressive height. Perhaps one of the most striking features of the aurochs was its horns.
These grew up to a metre long and were 10cm to 20cm in diameter, with a distinct shape as they pointed forwards before curving upwards and then inwards. Despite the immense weight of its horns, the aurochs retained its agility and was a difficult animal to hunt, let alone capture (Velten, 2007).
The exact origins of the aurochs (Bos primigenius) are still not clear, although it is postulated to have Indian ancestry and be related to, or descended from, Bos acutifrons – a species that dates back to two million years ago in the hills of northern India (Pilgrim, 1947).
The aurochs was present during the periods before and after the last ice age and, at its peak, was widespread and found over the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. However, it never reached Ireland, central and northern Scandinavia, or North America (Wright, 2013).
In response to the wide ranging environment it encountered, the aurochs evolved into three different strains: the Indian/Asian, the African and the near east and European types (Bradley, 2003). Despite the different types, all had a preference for river valleys and marshy forests, with a diet ranging from grass and herbs to bark, acorns and dry leaves depending on the season (Velten, 2007).
The aurochs only became extinct fairly recently, with the last known population to have been found near Warsaw, Poland in 1627. Rather than hunting, destruction of habitat to allow for the expansion of farming and diseases spreading from domestic cattle are the main reasons cited for its extinction (Wright, 2013).
After horses and bison, aurochs were the third most represented animal in cave paintings (Figure 3) and these provide evidence of the first human-aurochs interactions dating back to 17,000BC. However, it was not until later (around 7,000BC) when these interactions started paving the way for domestication.
The reasons why domestication of the ferocious aurochs was initiated is still not fully understood since sheep and goats had already been domesticated, providing humans with meat, milk and hides. However, two theories exist (Velten, 2007).
The first is based on the religious and spiritual associations that early civilisations made with the aurochs due to the crescent shape of their horns being associated with lunar goddesses. Regular sacrifices were made to placate the goddesses to maintain the fertility of crops and animals. Therefore, a regular supply of less aggressive aurochs would have made this easier.
Another theory has suggested domestication was a by-product of the ongoing battle to keep the aurochs away from crops. It was common among primitive tribes to capture the calves and tether them within the settlements. Without proper nutrition, they were unlikely to grow to the size of the wild aurochs and, over time, a more passive, smaller generation would have been produced. It is likely castration, dehorning and nose-roping were used to aid taming and handling.
Domestication took place in three separate areas: the Fertile Crescent (now the area covering the eastern Mediterranean and into the Persian Gulf), the Indus Valley (in modern Pakistan) and the south-eastern Sahara in Africa. However, it appears domestication occurred at different times. Archaeological evidence of domestic cattle dates back to almost 9,000BC in the Fertile Crescent, around 1,500 years later in the Indus Valley and later still in Africa.
It is widely accepted the aurochs was domesticated into the humpless taurine cattle of Europe, West Africa and northern Asia (Bos taurus) and the humped zebu cattle, which better tolerated the hot and arid environments of southern Asia and Africa (Bos indicus; Figure 4). More recently, DNA analysis has allowed specific localisation of the domestication sites with B taurus in the Fertile Crescent and B indicus in the Indus Valley (Ajmone-Marsan et al, 2010).
From this domestication site, B taurus was introduced into Europe via the Mediterranean coasts and along the Danube. As human migrations continued and farming practices evolved, so did the cattle populations. Domesticated lines became smaller than the wild aurochs and continued to decrease in size up until the Middle Ages.
Alongside this decreasing size, they became more adapted to their varying environments and their horns became shorter or even absent due to selection against larger horns, which were no longer required for fighting and could be problematic within a farming environment (Epstein and Mason, 1984).
B taurus and B indicus played a pivotal role in shaping civilisation through the innovation of milk harvesting and the cultivation of land using cattle-powered ploughs. People who previously had to be nomadic to seek their food were now able to cultivate marginal soils and thus become sedentary with the establishment of villages and towns. As populations grew in size, cattle were a reflection of wealth and were an initiating factor in the stratification of early societies. Rather than the condition or the fatness of the animals, it was the head of cattle that was important in reflecting wealth (Velten, 2007).
Due to the cost of acquiring and maintaining cattle, they were often loaned out to those who could not afford their own. The problems that arose as a consequence led to the establishment of laws, such as those drawn up by King Hammurabi of Babylon in 1,750BC. Of the 282 laws written, 29 concern crimes against cattle and set out rules to govern loan and even veterinary bills.
One such law stated: “If a veterinary surgeon performs a serious operation on an ass or an ox, and cure it, the owner shall pay the surgeon one-sixth of a shekel [today’s value = 16p] as a fee.”
The next law read: “If he performs a serious operation on an ass or ox, and kill it, he shall pay the owner one-fourth of its value” – an ancient version of the Veterinary Defence Society.
International cattle trade also became a way of owners increasing their wealth and this was the main way of taurine and zebu cattle spreading throughout the world, with genetic selection and breeding creating the specialist breeds we have today (Figure 5). Wherever they reached they became valuable possessions and helped to shape society.
This role is still maintained in many parts of the world and although we may have lost sight of this in the developed world, we should never forget everything we have become, and everything we will become, is down to agriculture – and this would not have been possible without the domestication of the ferocious aurochs.
