Ancient genomes illuminate the origins and dynamic history of East Asian cattle

The evolutionary history of domesticated cattle in East Asia for the past 5000 years remains largely obscure. Here, we investigated the origins and evolution of cattle genetic diversity in China by analyzing shotgun genome sequences of 166 ancient bovines spanning a 10,000-year period and encompassing now-extinct East Asian aurochs and domesticated cattle from key archaeological cultures. East and North Asian aurochs were distinct from western aurochs, although East Asian aurochs harbored approximately 15% western ancestry. The first domesticated cattle in the Yellow River region derived approximately 10% of their ancestry from local aurochs with an uneven genome-wide distribution. Early cattle from Xinjiang were genetically distinct and partially contributed to the later northern Chinese cattle. Indicine admixture became widespread only in the Medieval period in northern China.