Ancient DNA brings to life history of iconic aurochs, which were seen on cave wall paintings

Aurochs went extinct around 400 years ago which left much of their evolutionary history a mystery — until scientists sequenced ancient DNA

Aurochs skull, St Petersburg. Picture: Professor Dan Bradley

Aurochs were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art and their domestication gave us cattle. Now scientists have analysed their bones to learn more about them — and the influence of climate change on these massive creatures. 

Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, together with an international team of researchers, have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs by analysing 38 genomes harvested from bones dating across 50 millennia and stretching from Siberia to Britain.