Zebu and Sanga cattle in East Africa
Ganado cebú y sanga en África oriental
- Date
- c. 700-1000 CE (propuesto) · confidence low
- Place
- Horn of Africa lowlands, Somalia
- Credited to
- Horn of Africa pastoralists and Indian Ocean traders
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Introduction of humped cattle (Bos indicus) from Arabia and South Asia and their cross with African cattle, giving the Sanga and African zebu breeds. They bring heat and drought tolerance.
Hanotte and colleagues (Science, 2002) place zebu entry via the Horn of Africa in the last 2000 years, rising after Arab and Swahili contacts; the exact chronology and routes are debated. Sanga would predate the mass arrival of zebu. Approximate location.
What it led to
- breeds adapted to the drylands of East and southern Africa
- herding of the Maasai, Borana and Somali
- genetic admixture of African cattle with Asian ancestry