Goat History
Goats (Capra hircus) were among the first
domesticated animals, adapted from the wild version
Capra aegargus. Beginning about 10,000-11,000 years
ago, Neolithic farmers in the Near East began
keeping small herds of goats for their milk and
meat, and for their dung for fuel, as well as for
materials for clothing and building: hair, bone,
skin and sinew. |
|
Today there are more than 300 breeds of goats,
and they live in climates ranging from high
altitude mountains to deserts. Recent mtDNA
research suggests that all goats today are
descended from a handful of animals and may
have been domesticated in a handful of
different places. Archaeological data suggest
two distinct places of domestication: the
Euphrates river valley at Nevali Çori, Turkey
(11,000 bp), and the Zagros Mountains of Iran
at Ganj Dareh (10,000). Other possible sites of
domestication include the Indus Basin in
Pakistan at (Mehrgarh, 9,000 bp) and perhaps
central Anatolia and the southern Levant. Other
important archaeological sites with evidence
for the initial process of goat domestication
include Cayönü, Turkey (8500-8000 BC), Tell Abu
Hureyra, Syria (8000-7400 BC), Jericho, Israel
(7500 BC), and Ain Ghazal, Jordan (7600-7500
BC).
|
|
Articles
|
Back to top |
 Print this page
|
Bookmark this
page
| 
