All-round Research about Chinese Domestic Buffalo Origin
In the past century since the numerous buffalo remains were uncovered in the Yin Ruins,the source of domestication for Chinese buffalo has been a highly debated topic among the scientific community,going through several opposing views.In this article,the author combines archaeological data,historical records,and genetic evidence to reconstruct the do-mestication journey of buffalo in China.It is found that China's domestic buffalo belongs to the swamp species,and have been domesticated by the ancients of Wuyue since the Neolithic period.Furthermore,the so-called"圣水牛"(Bubalus mephistopheles)found by archaeolo-gists is in fact the ancestor of current Chinese buffalo.During the pre-Qin period,the do-mestic buffalo was referred to as Niu(牛)and Si(兕).The word"buffalo"itself was mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures introduced during the Han Dynasty,originally referring to the river-type buffalo from the Western Regions,and then taken to refer to Chinese do-mestic buffalo since the Jin Dynasty.Before nomads such as Rong Di,and Shang merchant brought cattle from the Northern grasslands of China into the Central Plains,buffalo pro-duced by Wuyue was the only domesticated cattle in the country.The star"Altair"was sub-sequently named after it.
万方数据
维普
