The water buffalo was domesticated in South and Southeast Asia several thousand years ago in what genetic evidence indicates were at least two largely separate processes: the river buffalo, domesticated on the Indian subcontinent and used mainly for milk, and the swamp buffalo, domesticated further east across Southeast Asia and southern China and used primarily as a draft animal for wet-rice cultivation. Uniquely suited to the flooded conditions of paddy agriculture, the swamp buffalo in particular became the principal plough animal of rice farming across much of monsoon Asia, a role it continues to fill on smallholder farms throughout the region.
Facts
WhenRiver type about 6,300 years ago; swamp type 3,000 to 7,000 years ago 1 LocationRiver type: western India; swamp type: Mainland Southeast Asia 1 Classification
Type/ClassificationAgricultural Revolution or Transformation 1 Connections
Associated With
Water Buffalo, Livestock This milestone records the domestication event of the water buffalo it is directly named for.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Water buffalo
WikipediaIntroduction
the river-type water buffalo probably originated in western India and was domesticated about 6,300 years ago
Domestication and breeding section
the swamp-type originated independently from Mainland Southeast Asia, being domesticated between 3-7,000 years ago
lead description (milestone-kind)
The water buffalo was domesticated in South and Southeast Asia several thousand years ago in what genetic evidence indicates were at least two largely separate processes: the river buffalo, domesticated on the Indian subcontinent and used mainly for milk, and the swamp buffalo, domesticated further east across Southeast Asia and southern China and used primarily as a draft animal for wet-rice cultivation.
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