Hold onto your lab coats, history buffs! A groundbreaking genetic study published today in Science reveals how cattle migration shaped East Asia's ancient civilizations—like a prehistoric GPS tracking 10,000 years of moo-vement 🗺️.
Collaboration Unearths Bovine Secrets
Led by Prof. Cai Dawei of Jilin University and researchers from Seoul National University, the team analyzed 166 ancient bovine bones from Chinese archaeological sites. Their work? Think of it as the Ancestry.com for cattle, decoding DNA like a 23andMe test for cows 🧬.
Silk Road Surprises
Key findings:
🐂 Cattle reached China's Yellow River basin 5,000 years ago
🌏 Xinjiang region cattle showed mixed Western/Asian genes
🔄 Bronze Age herds blended local + imported traits
This genetic mixology proves the Silk Road wasn't just about silk—it was a cattle superhighway connecting Eurasian cultures! Prof. Cai calls it 'a DNA time capsule showing how humans and animals shaped each other’s destinies.'
