Oldest livestock genome reveals origin of today’s goats
In the earliest stages of domestication, managed goats looked identical to their wild counterparts, the bezoar (pictured here).
Ancient hunters and farmers living in the foothills and valleys of western Iran’s verdant highlands may have been among the first people to domesticate livestock. Now, a new study—which includes the oldest livestock genome yet sequenced—bolsters that notion, appearing to capture genetic and archaeological evidence of a transitional stage between wild-hunted goats and their domesticated descendants.
The study has captured “the ’ground zero’ for goat domestication, or close to it,” says David MacHugh, an animal geneticist at University College Dublin. And because the advent of livestock domestication helped pave the way for larger populations and complex societies, he says, “it is really one of the pivotal moments in prehistory.”
Since the 1950s, archaeologists have unearthed ancient livestock bones near Iran’s Zagros Mountains. The area lies at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, the region considered the cradle of agriculture and several early civilizations. Animal remains—some of which date to about 10,000 years ago—show signs of domestication, such as smaller bodies and shorter horns. Evidence of early pig and sheep domestication has been found in the region, as well.
