Humans have an ancient relationship with cattle. The aurochs (Bos primigenius) was regularly hunted by prehistoric societies, and the domesticated form (Bos taurus), along with sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus) and pig (Sus domesticus), has been one of the most important livestock species for the last 10,000 years. Zooarchaeological studies allow us to determine how important cattle were in the diet and economy of human populations and when and where cattle were domesticated and improved, and this is just the tip of the iceberg… Scientific innovations have led to the adoption of powerful research tools, for example, stable isotopes have enabled us to investigate animal diets and geographical origins, and ancient DNA allows to trace domestication events and to depict phenotypic traits of past animals. Additionally, historical texts and representations of cattle in art and literature can enhance zooarchaeological interpretations of cattle-human interactions.

This session aims to bring together zooarchaeologists and their collaborators in other scientific fields investigating our relationship with cattle from prehistory to modern times. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions which combine zooarchaeological information with further scientific, ethnographic, philosophical or archival studies. Potential themes for inclusion are:

•     Early human cattle interactions: ancient depictions and hunting economies

•     Cattle domestication: new perspectives

•     Stock improvement and selective cattle breeding: where, how and why?

•     Cattle mobility and human migration

•     Cattle, the state and the individual: how have states and their ideologies shaped cattle husbandry and how can we study this archaeologically?

•     Cattle in religion, ritual, literature and art

•     Cattle biodiversity: the past, the present and the debate around resurrecting the aurochs