DNA analyzes show how cows evolved along with the Swiss population

The genetic development of Swiss cows is closely related to social developments in this country. This is shown by DNA analyzes of cow bones from the Stone Age to the early Middle Ages.

The researchers at the University of Basel have examined how the size and genetic diversity of cows has changed throughout history, a statement from the University of Basel showed Monday. The results were recently published in the journal “Diversity”.

According to the authors, domesticated cattle have been widespread in what is now Switzerland for some 7,500 years. Since that time, cattle have therefore been of great economic importance as a source of meat and milk, but also as a worker.

The cow bones are therefore a treasure trove for studies from the past. “Precisely because cattle lived so close to humans, their remains are a treasure trove of information about socio-cultural changes: new forms of housing, diets, population size, agricultural practices,” Basel archaeozoologist Sabine Deschler-Erb said in the statement.

This is how the researchers put it, for example an increase in genetic diversity in cattle in the first century BC. At that time, the Romans settled north of the Alps and brought cows from their homeland. The indigenous heritage mingled with that of the cows brought with them.

At the same time, according to the analysis, the cattle at this time grew larger. The growing population needed more arable land – and bigger workhorses. According to the research, these properties have been bred through breeding.

When the Romans retreated again in the third and fourth centuries AD, the cows became smaller again and the gene pool simpler. Because in the early Middle Ages, agriculture became fragmented again and people became increasingly self-sufficient. Larger cattle, which require a lot of space and feed, were more of a disadvantage for a single farm. (aeg/sda)