quote:The history of African pig breeds is still controversial due to the relative scarcity of archaeological and genetic data clarifying their origins. While these breeds might descend from Near Eastern pigs entering the continent via Egypt during the Neolithic, Africa may be a primary domestication locus for pigs, as indicated for other species such as cattle and donkeys. In this regard, characterisation of the mitochondrial gene pool of African pig breeds has revealed a very low frequency of Near Eastern alleles, suggesting that, if Fertile Crescent pigs played a part in the foundation of African breeds, their genetic signature has been substantially erased .
posted
Interesting, though not surprising. Considering that Africa is home to several wild porcine species and that these are as easy to domesticate as the Eurasian ones if not easier:
the North African or Barbary boar (Sus scrofa algira)
the common African warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)
the giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) which is the largest species of the African porcine.
The bushpig (Potamochoerus porcus) which is the smallest of the African porcine.
Even Euoropean explorers and colonialists have documented peoples in West and Central Africa having domesticated pigs. To say that these pigs descended from "Near-Eastern" breeds, I've always found incredulous.
So add this to the list of African domesticates-- cattle, donkeys, guinea fowl, etc.
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26238 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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^ Would be interesting to see which of those species contributed the most to African domesticated pigs. Most sources identify wild boar (Sus scrofa) as the ancestors of modern pigs, but I dunno if that would apply to African pigs too.
quote: Abstract Pigs are vital to the economy and critical in meeting the ever increasing demand for livestock and livestock products in most parts of the world. Pig is one of the oldest domesticated animals, though their ancestory is still shrouded in controversy due to lack of sufficient archaeological and genetic information. However, most of the breeds are thought to have descended from the Eurasian Wild Boar (Sus scrofa). This chapter will therefore look at the African pig under the following headings: Introduction, origin of pigs – genetic and historical/archaeological evidences, pig breeds in Africa, economic importance of pig production in Africa, marketing of pigs in Africa, herd health management of pigs in Africa, and challenges affecting pig production in Africa.
-------------------- Once an archaeologist, always an archaeologist Posts: 2684 | From: Sweden | Registered: Mar 2020
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