Evidence for early domestic yak, taurine cattle, and their hybrids on the Tibetan Plateau

Ningbo Chen, Zhengwei Zhang, Jiawen Hou, Jialei Chen, Xuan Gao, Li Tang, Shargan Wangdue, Xiaoming Zhang, Mikkel Holger S. Sinding, Xuexue Liu, Jianlin Han, Hongliang Lü, Chuzhao Lei, Fiona Marshall, Xinyi Liu

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Abstract

Domestic yak, cattle, and their hybrids are fundamental to herder survival at high altitudes on the Tibetan Plateau. However, little is known about their history. Bos remains are uncommon in this region, and ancient domestic yak have not been securely identified. To identify Bos taxa and investigate their initial management, we conducted zooarchaeological analyses of 193 Bos specimens and sequenced five nuclear genomes from recently excavated assemblages at Bangga. Morphological data indicated that more cattle than yak were present. Ancient mitochondrial DNA and nuclear genome sequences identified taurine cattle and provided evidence for domestic yak and yak-cattle hybridization ~2500 years ago. Reliance on diverse Bos species and their hybrid has increased cattle adaptation and herder resilience to plateau conditions. Ancient cattle and yak at Bangga were closely related to contemporary livestock, indicating early herder legacies and the continuity of cattle and yak husbandry on the Tibetan Plateau.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummereadi6857
TidsskriftScience Advances
Vol/bind9
Udgave nummer50
Antal sider13
ISSN2375-2548
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2023

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