Nearly four decades have passed since an independent North African centre for cattle domestication was first proposed in 1980, based on the Combined Prehistoric Expedition’s work in the Nabta Playa—Bir Kiseiba region of southern Egypt, and the initial rigorous debates between Andrew B. Smith and Fred Wendorf, Romuald Schild and Achilles Gautier. More recently, geneticists have entered the fray with determinations on the spread of haplotypes, and the timing thereof, that extend the scope and increase the complexity of the debate. Here, a new look at the botanical data and a re-analysis of the geology of Bir Kiseiba–Nabta Playa rejects the ecological foundations of the early African domestication model, while a detailed examination of the published osteological and radiometric data from the same area reveals a more nuanced picture than has been recognised to date. These results are placed into context by a wider review of the genetic and other archaeological evidence from the Western Desert of Northeast Africa, where no other cattle remains designated as domesticated have been found. It is concluded that (a) Bos remains from the early Holocene at Nabta Playa—Bir Kiseiba were those of hunted aurochs; (b) domesticated caprines were likely present in Northeast Africa before domesticated cattle; and (c) the domesticated cattle spreading across Northeast and northern Africa, including Nabta Playa—Bir Kiseiba, from the late seventh millennium BC or early sixth millennium BC onwards were descendants of Bos taurus domesticated in the Middle Euphrates area of the Middle East.

中文翻译：

---

北非早期牛的驯化及其生态环境：重新评估

自1980年北非一个独立的牲畜饲养中心首次提出以来，已经过去了近40年，这是根据史前联合探险队在埃及南部纳布塔普拉亚（Nabta Playa）-比尔（Bir Kiseiba）地区的工作，以及安德鲁·B·史密斯（Andrew B. Smith）和Fred Wendorf，Romuald Schild和Achilles Gautier。最近，遗传学家开始对单倍型的传播及其时间进行确定，这扩大了范围并增加了辩论的复杂性。在这里，对植物数据的重新审视和对Bir Kiseiba–Nabta Playa地质学的重新分析拒绝了早期非洲驯化模型的生态基础，对来自同一地区的已发布的骨学和放射学数据进行的详细检查显示，与迄今公认的图像相比，其图像更加细微。通过对东北非洲西部沙漠的遗传和其他考古证据进行更广泛的回顾，将这些结果放在了相关的背景下，那里没有发现其他指定为家养的牛。结论是（a）早新世时期的Bos遗骸位于Nabta Playa-Bir Kiseiba是被猎捕的野牛的遗骸；（b）在东北非洲，驯养的牧羊犬可能先于驯养的牛；（c）从公元前七千年末或公元前六千年初开始，分布在东北和北非，包括纳布塔海滩-比尔·基塞巴（Nabta Playa-Bir Kiseiba）的驯养牛是在中东幼发拉底河地区驯化的金牛座后代。