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 Cows
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Cattle,
common term for the domesticated herbivorous mammals that constitute the
genus Bos, of the family BOVIDAE and that are of great importance to humans because of the meat, milk,
leather, glue, gelatin, and other items of commerce they yield. Modern
cattle are divided into two species: B. taurus, which originated in
Europe and includes most modern breeds of dairy and beef cattle, and B.
indicus, which originated in India and is characterized by a hump at
the withers. The latter are now widespread in Africa and Asia, with lesser
numbers imported to North America (primarily in the southern United
States), Central America, and northern and central South America.
European cattle probably are descended from
the wild cattle, B. primigenius, of Europe and were first
domesticated in southeastern Europe about 8500 years ago. The zebu, or
Brahman, cattle, B. indicus, were domesticated in southern Asia
about the same time or a little later. Early records indicate that cattle
were used for draft, milk, sacrifice, and, in some instances, for meat and
sport. Some of these early uses have continued in modified forms into the
present, such as in bullfighting, as in sacrificing animals for religious
purposes, and as in considering cows sacred. |
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