The domestication of zebu cattle (Bos indicus) in light of genetic and zooarchaeological research

Paleogenetics has yet to directly impact our understanding of the origins of domestic zebu (humped) cattle (Bos indicus). Given the sub-tropical and tropical climates across the Indo-Malaysian ecozone, the preservation of aDNA is likely only in the most exceptional circumstances, and to date no sustained effort has been published that tests a range of samples from the region. That said, studies of modern animal genetics have informed research on the domestication and spread of zebu across the region, lending support to previous osteoarchaeologically-derived hypotheses and challenging the archaeozoologist to re-evaluate existing data. Here we outline, from an archaeofaunal perspective, the domestication of zebu in northwestern South Asia, the possible location of secondary centers of domestication or introgression that are suggested by the genetic data, and the spread of zebu into the SE Asia and southern China.