原牛种

驯养及绝种

约公元前6000年，高加索南部及美索不达米亚北部开始驯养原牛，遗传证据显示北非及印度亦有另行驯化原牛，此一过程令原牛大为改变，甚至与现今的家牛变成另一亚种。

不过，今日欧洲的牛只是否起源自原牛的驯化过程，尚成疑问。虽然原牛早于铜器时代已从英国绝种，但遗传研究却发现当时的原牛与今日的牛种并无明显关连，有说认为欧洲家牛是直接由近东一带的原牛产生的后代。

最后一只原牛活动在波兰西部森林中，于1627年死于自然因素，最后一只原牛的死亡宣告了这一物种野生种群的灭绝。

The aurochs (Bos primigenius; or; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen; also ure or urus) is an extinct species of bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle (Bos taurus). With a shoulder height of up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in bulls and 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocene; it had massive elongated and broad horns that reached 80 cm (31 in) in length.

The aurochs was part of the Pleistocene megafauna and had an expansive range spanning from western Europe and northern Africa to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. It probably evolved in Asia and migrated west and north during warm interglacial periods. The oldest-known aurochs fossils date to the Middle Pleistocene. Its distribution progressively contracted during the Holocene due to habitat loss and hunting. The last confirmed and widely accepted individual died in Jaktorów forest in Poland in 1627, though some reports suggest it may have survived up to a century later in parts of southeastern Europe.

There is a long history of interaction between aurochs and humans, including archaic hominins like Neanderthals. The aurochs is depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings, Neolithic petroglyphs, Ancient Egyptian reliefs and Bronze Age figurines. It symbolised power, sexual potency and prowess in religions of the ancient Near East. Its horns were used in votive offerings, as trophies and drinking horns.

Two aurochs domestication events occurred during the Neolithic Revolution. One gave rise to the domestic taurine cattle in the Fertile Crescent that was introduced to Europe via the Balkans and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Hybridisation between aurochs and early domestic cattle occurred during the early Holocene. Domestication of the Indian aurochs led to the zebu cattle (Bos indicus) that hybridised with early taurine cattle in the Near East about 4,000 years ago. Some modern cattle breeds exhibit features reminiscent of the aurochs, such as the dark colour and light eel stripe along the back of bulls, the lighter colour of cows, or an aurochs-like horn shape.