The Hollow-Horned Domestic Ruminants

Abstract

In tropical areas, early man developed from hunter–gatherer to stockman and farmer about 9000 years ago. In temperate zones, this major ecological change did not take place until after the last Ice Age—about 5000 years ago.* Man cultivated his own grains and vegetables and provided food and shelter for animals that, in turn, provided valuable goods for man. Ruminants—cows, goats, and sheep—were among the earliest animals to be domesticated and became important in providing milk, meat, and hides for clothing and tents. The ruminants are large quadrupeds with four-chambered stomachs. Grass or hay is cut off with the front incisors, partially ground with the molars, and swallowed. Later it is regurgitated, reground to a fine mix (chewed cud), and reswallowed into the second section of the stomach, from which it is digested. The females are usually pregnant or producing milk for an offspring or for the farmer.