26 April 2001
Nature © Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Not out of Africa: Origins of modern cattle
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| Our cover showing The Chancellor, a prime example of nineteenth century livestock, painted by John Sheriff |
The domestication of livestock was a key factor in European prehistory. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA in extinct wild oxen and modern cattle from Europe, Africa and the near East provides genetic evidence that European pastoralization is based on mass importation of stock rather than local innovation using wild oxen. mtDNA genetics point to a Near-East origin for European cattle, independent of domestication in Africa.
Genetic evidence for Near-Eastern origins of
European cattle
CHRISTOPHER S. TROY, DAVID E. MACHUGH, JILLIAN F.
BAILEY, DAVID A. MAGEE, RONAN T. LOFTUS, PATRICK CUNNINGHAM, ANDREW T.
CHAMBERLAIN, BRYAN C. SYKES & DANIEL G. BRADLEY
Nature 410, 1088-1091 (26 April 2001)
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