The oldest record ever of a yak being domesticated by humans has been found in Bangga. It is a settlement in the Shannan prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) in China.
Key facts
- Shannan borders Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh and the Brahmaputra river (Yarlung-Tsangpo in Tibet) ) passes through it. Bangga is known to be rich in animal fossils.
- The humans in Bangga located on the Yarlung-Tsangpo also domesticated cattle (cows) of the taurine variety, along with yaks some 2,500 years ago.
- Most modern cattle breeds of Europe as well as the temperate regions of Asia are taurine.
- Taurine are distinct from the Zebu or humped breeds native to the Indian subcontinent and tropical Asia.
- The residents of Bangga also produced hybrids by crossing yaks and cattle.
- Yaks, domestic cattle and the aurochs (ancient ancestor of cattle) are grouped by taxonomists under the genus Bos.
- The researchers sifted through more than 10,000 pieces of mammal bones collected at Bangga.
- They identified and sorted out 193 specimens belonging to the genus Bos. Today, there are an estimated 14 million to 15 million domestic yaks in the highlands of Asia alone.
- They are also found in the Indian Himalayan Border States and Union territories such as Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
