History and genetics of African cattle domestication

This project will contribute new genetic evidence towards debates on the origins and spread of African cattle by sequencing complete mitochondrial genomes of cattle herds in Southern Africa. In contrast to early and mid-Holocene fauna from Egypt and Eastern Africa, the best-preserved and dated faunal samples come from early farmer sites in southern Africa. Yet, these remains have not been subject to ancient DNA analyses. The only study of complete mitochondrial genomes from modern Nguni cattle in South Africa by Horsburgh has shown that Nguni sequences are substantially different from cattle in Egypt and Ethiopia and outside Africa. Paired with further study of modern cattle, we propose to examine pre-colonial cattle remains to compare with modern and mtDNA data previously collected from Egypt and Eastern Africa. This permit is for the export and analysis of teeth from the 18th C site of Nqabeni.