Cows are the Mother of Civilisation

That's a pretty hefty claim, but to what extent is it true?

Last week I met a wonderful couple from America, Bob and Brie, and they were curious about cows and what I could tell them about how humankind has co-evolved with our domestication of cattle. It got me thinking I must write this stuff down! Here is a bit of what I know:

The idea that "cows are the mother of civilisation" is more than just a poetic boast - it is a fairly compelling argument when you consider the foundational role cattle played in early human development. While it is a simplification, for sure, because many factors shaped civilisation, cows were central to agriculture, economy, nutrition, technology and even religion in many early human societies.

Cows evolved from the Aurochs, a now-extinct bovine species, around 250,000 years ago. Fast forwards to around 10,000 years ago, and Bos taurus (the humpless, temperate-climate cattle that we are familiar with in Europe) were domesticated in a part of the World known as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is a historical region in the Middle East where some of the earliest human civilisations and agricultural practices began. It’s called “fertile” because of its rich soils and abundant water sources, such as the Jordan, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which made it ideal for early farming and settlement.

Around 8000 years ago, cows belonging to the subspecies Bos indicus were domesticated in the Indian contiment. These are the humped, heat-tolerant zebu cattle such as Gir and Brahmin which are still widely farmed or kept in Asia, Africa and South America. Mankind has been pretty successful in colonising most of Earth's landmass over time, and they have taken cattle with them wherever they have gone. Today's breeds all stem from these first Bos taurus or Bos indicus cattle. (A study of the different breeds and where they have all come from is fascinating - but another story for another day).

So, around 10,000 years ago, in the Fertile Crescent, humankind developed agriculture during a period known as the Neolithic Revolution. This included the domestication and growing of wheat, barley and lentils, plus the keeping of the first sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. In turn, this led to the Cradle of Civilisation: the birthplace of early complex societies like Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria, coupled with the development of writing systems (e.g. cuneiform), law codes, and large cities. The Fertile Crescent is where humans first transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming and building cities - making it one of the most influential regions in human history.

The role of cattle in this evolution of civilisation can perhaps be summarised by their impact on food security, agriculture and draft power, economics and trade, settlement and society, and spiritual or cultural roles. Taking each in turn:

1. Food security. Cattle provided meat and milk (and blood in some pastoralist cultures, e.g. seen with Masai today). These are a stable and renewable source of high-quality nutrition, especially protein. Human populations embracing dairy products in their diets had a survival advantage over others. My time volunteering in rural Mozambique showed me just how important dairy cows are for a developing society and its nutritional health, even today, by providing high quality protein from inedible (to humans) forage on an every-day, trickle basis. A little amount of milk-porridge every day is quite different for a child's physical and brain development, as compared to occasional meat-feasts (or, worse still, no protein at all). Cow dung used for fuel and house-building can be seen in many societies today - it may not be food, but dung was probably an important resource also in this Neolithic Revolution.

2. Agriculture and draft power. Cattle, especially oxen, were early "engines" of farming, pulling ploughs, transporting goods and enabling large-scale field cultivation. Without this animal power, agriculture would have remained limited and very labour-intensive. Don't forget too, the value of manure to crop cultivation: we are only just re-discovering how important grazing cows and their manure are for soil health (the "regenerative agriculture" revolution we are at the foothills of...).

3. Economics and trade. Cows were currency before coins existed. In many societies, wealth was measured in cattle. I sometimes think I see this now with some of our dairy farmers at home! And it is still true in parts of Africa, for sure. The latin word for money, pecumia, even comes from "pecus", meaning cattle. Cattle were prestige goods, exchanged in marriage contracts, diplomacy and to pay tribute.

4. Settlement and society. A stable food source from livestock allowed sedentary living and larger populations to thrive. There was even some surplus from cattle-based farming, which supported division of labour, social hierarchies and the formation of states. In cultures such as the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, there is ample evidence that cattle were linked with social status and religious identity.

5. Spiritual and cultural roles. Cattle were (are) sacred in many ancient religions. In Egypt, there is the cow goddess, Hathor, who symbolises motherhood and abundance, and Apis, the bull cult reflecting divine kingship. In Indian Hinduism, the zebu became holy, and cows are still venerated, seen as givers of life and linked to dharma (moral order). There are many other Proto-Indo-European myths which reference cattle as cosmic or divine gifts. The evidence is that cattle sacrifices were central to rituals, social contracts, and festivals, all of which were essential aspects of our civilisation journey.

One legitimatley might ask "what about other domesticated animals - aren't they just as important to our human evolution?". In fairness to sheep and goats, these probably were domesticated and farmed before cattle - perhaps 12,000 years ago. They provided meat and wool, and could survive in very arid conditions, but their limitations as a draft animal perhaps meant they never developed the same status or symbolic value as cattle. Pigs, too, were domesticated very early on, thriving on scraps of food and being relatively easy to confine, but they were never useful for milk, that all-so-important daily protein provision. Nor could a pig pull a plough!

It would be dreadful to forget the horse! Well, the domestication of the horse has undoubtedly had a massive influence on the development of human (un)civilisation. However, their domestication came much later, around 3500 years ago. Horses revolutionised warfare and travel and they had a huge role in empire-building. Think the Mongols, the Persians, the Romans etc. To say, however, that they were the "mother of civilisation" does not quite work...Camels, also, were domesticated much later than cattle, although their role in opening up trade routes in places like the Sahara and the Silk Route is worth a mention.

In summary, perhaps, cows weren’t the only cause of civilisation - grains, water access, metallurgy, writing, and social systems all mattered - but they were a pillar of early complex societies. They gave humanity power, food, mobility, and meaning, and in short I think it is still fair to credit them as the backbone (or mother) of early civilisation.

(I hope you enjoyed reading about this. It has been a blog post I have kinda meant to get around to for a while. I have to mention a lovely book, called "The Cow: a tribute", which has been the source of a lot of the information here. I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more - see below.)