Wilde koeien in de kudde

Abstract

Wild cows amongst cattle. Formerly, mitochondrial DNA studies generally agreed upon Southwest Asia as the single origin of European domestic cattle. While this basically still holds, recent mitochondrial data suggests introgression or even secondary domestication on the European mainland. Disregarding the pre-Neolithic Italian aurochses that were of the same haplotypes as modern cattle, unique haplotypes were found in Italian cattle breeds. Also, the archetypical haplotype of European aurochses was found in modern East Asian breeds. There is no certainty about whether this type was introduced to East Asia by Holocene aurochses or by more recent, intentional cross-breeding. Nevertheless, the genetic transfer indicates introgression. The archaeological record provides no evidence as to when and where this could have taken place.