An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c6.s2.t2: 1.2.2 Bubalus bubalis (buffalo)
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c6.s2.t2
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1.2.2 Bubalus bubalis (buffalo)
v1.c6.s2.t2.1
Although a great variety of bones of the domestic buffalo is found at most excavated sites, their number suggests that only small herds were kept and bred. The earliest domestic buffalo remains come from ADAMGARH, *c.* 5500 B.C. At NAGARJUNAKONDA bones of wild and domestic species occur together in the historical levels, and this might throw light on the possibility of local domestication. Buffalo bones from some sites, e.g. ROPAR, HASTINĀPURA, bear cut-marks, perhaps indicating that the animal was eaten. Clason, 1977, suggests that larger and smaller varieties (cf. Navdatoli) were cross-bred to increase the milk yield. Bulls were used for traction. At INAMGAON the measurements of buffalo metacarpals are the same as those of the wild breed. The metapodia of the buffalo are wider than those of the cattle—an adaptation which facilitates walking on mud. Although buffaloes appear only in the upper levels at Mohenjo-daro, their occurrence on seals has been considered evidence for their domestication in Sind by this period.
v1.c6.s2.t2.2
It is generally accepted that the Indian buffalo was domesticated within the subcontinent and is a direct descendant of *Bubalus palaeindicus* found in the Siwaliks. The domestic buffalo has changed so little that it is regarded as only semi-domesticated and continues to interbreed with wild species. It is still uncertain whether the domesticated buffalo of s.-e. Asia and China is descended from the wild Pleistocene buffalo of China or from the Indian wild buffalo. The domestic buffalo was introduced from India into Iraq and thence into the Jordan valley in *c.* A.D. 725. By the Middle Ages it was known in Egypt, Bulgaria and Hungary. The buffalo was successfully bred in Sicily but was a failure in Spain and Germany. Generally speaking the discontinuity of distribution of the buffalo w. wards is due to the lack of tropical swamp conditions.
v1.c6.s2.t2.3
*1.2.3 Caprahircus aegagrus* (goat). Bones of the domestic goat are present at most excavated sites and at places, e.g. BAGOR, along with the sheep, it is the most widely represented species at all cultural levels. Bone measurements indicate that the prehistoric goat was larger than the modern one.
v1.c6.s2.t2.4
Like the sheep, in the Deccan Neolithic levels the goat is poorly represented, but at HALLUR the population of the goat and sheep shows a marked increase in the Iron Age. This is significant because it implies that here either the people had developed some special methods of goat/sheep-breeding or the animals assumed special importance in the economy. Cut-marks, e.g. at ROPAR, indicate the consumption of goat meat and the state of teeth eruption, degree of fusion of the epiphysis, etc., suggest that animals were slaughtered when 2 to 3 years old.
v1.c6.s2.t2.5
Bones of the goat and sheep are generally indistinguishable, but there is a significant difference in their cranial characteristics. In the goat the coronal suture is straight and the lambdoidal suture projects forward at an angle, while in the sheep these traits are reversed. Wherever goats have been unmistakably identified from excavations, their ratio to the sheep has generally been of the order of 1:2. Second to the cattle, the sheep and goat together comprise the largest group of animals bred and slaughtered at prehistoric sites. Interestingly, at a number of sites bones of the goat predominate over those of the sheep in the earlier levels, but later on the latter become more numerous. This may be attributed to the actual chronological sequence of domestication or to ecological conditions. In temperate climates the sheep were bred in larger numbers because of greater wool yield and tastier meat. Wherever cattle-breeding is successful, the goat is not reared as a milch animal (Zeuner, 1963).
v1.c6.s2.t2.6
The five species of the wild goat occurring in the subcontinent are: *Capra falconeri* and *Capra ibex*, both found in the region between Afghanistan, Kashmir, Punjab and Kumaun, the latter an important food animal during the Upper Palaeolithic; *Capra hircus*, found in Baluchistan and Sind, probably the main ancestor of the several breeds of the domestic goat; *Hemitragus jemlabicus*, Himalayan Tahr; and *Hemitragus hylocrius*, Nilgiri Tahr, reported respectively from the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan belt and the Nilgiris of s. India. The prehistoric migratory movements of these wild populations are not known.
v1.c6.s2.t2.7
The goat is known from the pre-Harappa settlements of the Quetta and Zhob-Loralai valleys and from the mature Harappa levels of Harappa sites. At most Indian sites, specially Neolithic, the goat is reported earlier than the sheep, but that the former was in fact domesticated before the latter is not established. Furthermore there is no archaeological evidence to support the theory that the goat was indigenously domesticated.
v1.c6.s2.t2.8
*1.2.4 Ovis orientalis vignei* (sheep). The domesticated sheep is widely represented at most excavated sites. The animal appears to have been profusely slaughtered during the Mesolithic (65% of the total bone collection at TILWARA are of sheep), suggestive of a pastoral economy where they formed an important dietary item. Evidence from the lower Deccan Neolithic sites (cf. goat from HALLUR) indicates that only small herds were kept and the number of unworn teeth and unfused epiphyses suggests that animals between the ages of 2 to 3 years were butchered. Probably lambs were eaten, while ewes were kept for breeding and milk. The measurements of sheep bones from prehistoric sites generally tend to be larger than those of the modern sheep. At PIKLIHAL bones of the goat predominate over those of the sheep, the latter being similar to those of the modern domestic sheep of the Deccan.
v1.c6.s2.t2.9
Of the four wild species of the sheep existing today (*Ovis musimon*, moufflon, found in Europe and the Middle East; *Ovis orientalis*, the Asiatic urial, found in the region between Iran and n.-w. India; *Ovis amnion*, argali, found in Tibet, Ladakh, Sikkim, Mongolia, the n. Himalayas and n. China; and *Ovid canadensis*, the Bighorn of n. Asia and n. America), the last is excluded from the ancestry of the domestic species. All domesticated sheep are descended from the moufflon, urial or argali. They are closely related to each other and are connected by intermediate breeds. Most wool sheep are believed to have been derived from urial stock, while hair sheep are traced back to the moufflon. The Indian domestic sheep, as also those of Tibet and s.-e. Asia, are essentially derived from the urial stock. The argali has also contributed to this domesticated group but is of subordinate importance.
v1.c6.s2.t2.10
The sheep had been domesticated with the aid of the dog before agriculture was fully developed. The original centre of domestication was the Aralo-Caspian and Turkestan region. Sheep-rearing thence spread first to Iran and later to Iraq. The most notable skeletal changes that have occurred with domestication are a convexity of the nasals (possibly connected with a shortening of the jaws), shortening of the facial bones and decrease in the size but increase in the degree of wrinkling of the horns.