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I assume we did, right? I mean, there's no such things as a wild cow (I assume everything else would just eat them). I know we sort of created dogs by breeding the wolf out of wolves, so is it the same thing with cows? Did we start with really tame buffalo or bulls or something? It's a pretty weird thing when you think about it--you know, one species basically creating another species. Cows. Weird.
This created the cow:
http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/...ampler-700.jpg
...then we had to figure how to get that.
I think that's what ended the (that particular) cow. Looks pretty good.
It was the idea of that which led some Assyrian to lasso some Aurochs and here we are today.
Is that true? Assyrians made cows? WTF??
Humans domesticated cattle a good 5000 years before anyone called themselves Assyrians. Heck, not even the Akkadians or Sumerians were around yet.
On a related not the Sumerians used donkeys to pull chariots into battle.
...and there's still a lot of jackasses in that region today.
Finally... proof of intelligent designQuote:
Originally Posted by iceman
This concludes your bovine history segment for today.
Assloads of fun
Humans didn't create dogs by selectively breeding wolves. The genetic divergence happened when some wolves chose to hang out around human settlements, and other wolves chose to just run around doing wolf stuff. The ones who chose to scavenge around humans became increasingly tame over successive generations while the ones that avoided humans remained wolf like. The symbiosis of the humans and wolves having common food sources and a common need to protect against other scarier creatures, eventually formed the sacred bond between man and dog. It really was a pivotal leap in our evolution and we owe a lot to that chance symbiosis between man and increasingly less wild wolves...
Errr I dunno. Really we're talking about long enough ago that no one really knows much for sure. But I saw a documentary and read some books and it makes some sense.
No way man. You don't say things that make sense :tongue:
I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it.
A female is a cow and a male is a bull, so the animal is not a cow. Then what is it?
Cattle aka Bos taurus
No shit. The wolves that hung around humans were, well, wolves aka Canus lupus. Dogs and wolves are still the same species, Canus lupus. By contrast, cattle are a species distinct from any wild species. The current theory is that all cattle are descendants of a small group of wild ox that were domesticated by humans 10,000+ years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by leroy jenkins
Douglas Adams had it right..."Would you like to meet the meat?"
That's some heady shit. Thank you Tom Cruise ancestors for giving us the meats.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Steve
Right, so it could've gone the other way to at least some degree as well, right? I mean maybe some nice wolves started hanging around and then humans jumped in and began domesticating/breeding them, with natural selection aided by human choice breeding out the wolf-y genes.Quote:
Originally Posted by leroy jenkins
But as usual you guys know some weird shit.
There are actually wild cattle. Bring an invasive species into an area with no predators and bingo, you can hunt cows in Hawaii.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_wild_cattle
Wonder how they selected who would milk the first wild ox/cow?
"See that big critter over there? Go over and squeeze those long things back by her butt."
To the OP, yes humans did create cows by selective breeding and domestication. Likely from a wild auroch like bovid. as they have done with sheep, goats
, pigeons, pigs and a host of other species.
While the current hypothesis on dog domestication is as Leroy discribes, it is mostly speculation, and probably only partly true. Humans managed to domesticate dozens of species with the "hanging around humans" effect. It is just as likely dogs were domesticated as a food source, but found to have other useful purposes.
Food source? That adds different color to Leroy's mention of the 'sacred bond' between man and dog.
No, not quite. See above. Wolves and dogs are the same species.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dexter Rutecki
Those are feral cattle aka Bos taurus, the same species as domestic cattle, i.e., it's a feral population of a domestic species, but not a wild species.Quote:
Originally Posted by Conundrum
Right, but genetically they must be different. I just meant the more wolf-ish characteristics have been selected against in dogs--not that they're a different species.
The reality is that some smart wolves decided that hunting big animals and getting trampled and gored and whatnot basically sucked, so they looked around for an alternative food source and decided on us. Then they set about domesticating us, gradually improving us to the point where we will feed them daily, give them shelter, take them to the doctor when necessary and even knit them little sweaters for when its chilly, all without having to do shit except sometimes run around in fields chasing sheep (which they wanted to do anyways) or barking at people or other animals that threaten their food source, i.e. us. It's been a long process but those early dog scientists have succeeded beyond their wildest imagination.
Feral cattle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Conundrum
Hey that's my old band's name.Quote:
Originally Posted by mtngirl79
Wow. Free steak.
All I know is 'hunting cattle' sounds like it should be a euphemism for something.
There are still some sub-genuses of wild cattle - the Gaur and the Wild Yak, eg. Bison are also members of the Bos genus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bos
http://www.ttbook.org/sites/default/...detail/bob.jpg
oh wait, that's not right
Animals that don't taste good get names and cute little sweaters.Quote:
Originally Posted by hutash
Bwaaaaaa.....Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Oh, and while humans did eat early dogs, and use them as pack animals, remember, there were things like 9 foot tall (at the shoulder, on all fours) bears running around at sustained speeds of 40+mph, as well as all sorts of other nightmarish creatures. All of human civilization has flourished in the brief geologic blink of an eye after these creatures went extinct, and we did not really flourish until they did.
There is every reason to think that the combination of the alert nature of a wolf/primitive dog, and human's ability to use projectiles such as spears or even rocks, and both species ability to work as a pack for common goals, was THE thing that kept humans safe from the monsters that roamed free only a moment ago. That, and living together in numbers. Also, human populations seem to have taken off a bit while these megafaunal creatures were still running around, food was plentiful of course, but humans didn't start developing technology and really advancing until after most of these creatures died out naturally. It was cooperation with canines that gave us the edge and safety needed to start the larger tribes and settlements that were the genesis for civilization.
This must have happened around the time that the mutation that allowed adult humans to digest milk... this mutation was then obviously selected for as milk drinkers were healthier and stronger and better suited to survive famine and drought with the additional source of nutrition/hydration. No matter what vegans want you to believe, the milk drinkers then had more sex/babies than the non milk drinkers... so maybe cows made humans?Quote:
Originally Posted by TBS
And walk behind them picking up their poop for themQuote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Yes, but only when the term "cattle" is used to describe the genus that includes wild ox, gaur, wild yak, etc., But the term "cow" in common everyday usage -- which is the subject of this thread -- refers a single species: cattle aka Bos taurus. That is, when OP asks "did humans create cows?," OP refers to a single species, cattle aka Bos taurus, and not to all species in the Bos genus. Kinda like talking about jaguars, pumas, bobcat, tigers, lions, etc. -- all of which are of the genus Felis and are called "cats" -- in a thread re what cat food to feed your house cat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippster
This just in, humans still eat dogs. See China and Korea for examples.Quote:
Originally Posted by leroy jenkins
There are already attempts underway to bring back the auroch.
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/24/how_...ate_an_auroch/
re: hunting cows in HI, do hunters use dog and knife tech like they do for boar?
was it believed that the ability to digest milk "left" humans as they aged? how do people know this?Quote:
Originally Posted by mtngirl79