History of Markhor

History of Markhor

Origin of goats

Goats are domesticated animals thousands of years ago and are commonly called goats in Korea. It is known that the ancestors of today's goats were largely wild species belonging to the genus Capra and Hemitragus. The genus Capra is divided into five species and is classified into Capra ibex, Capra pyrenaica, Capra caucasia, Capra hercus, and Capra falconeri. Capra Hercules, which is assumed to be the ancestor of goats, is also called bezoar and is divided into two subspecies, Agagrus and Britti. In particular, it is known that the Agagrus subspecies existing in Iran, Turkey, western Afghanistan and Greece are the ancestors of mountain goats. This species is about 95cm tall and relatively slender, and males have beards that cover the entire chin. The hair on the neck and shoulders grows long, and the color of the hair on the head is grayish brown in winter and reddish brown in spring. It is a breed recognized as the original breed of European goat. The Capra Falconeri species, distributed in the mountains of Afghanistan, the western Himalayas, and Pakistan, is called the Markhor species and is larger than the Bezoar species and has long hair around the neck and spirally twisted horns. The cashmere goat, a wool species, is said to be the lineage of this breed. It is speculated that the two species, Bezoar and Markhor, interbred to form many of the many domesticated breeds today.

Domestication of goats

Despite being domesticated for a long time, goats still have wild nature. In addition, it is an animal that can be easily reared not only in flatlands but also in rough and rugged areas. According to archaeological data, goats were domesticated around 7000 B.C., and it is estimated that goats inhabiting the Zagros Mountains on the border between Iran and Iraq were domesticated. In ancient Egypt, the horns of a spiral-shaped Bezoar goat, which is presumed to be a domesticated goat introduced from the Middle East around 3500 B.C., were excavated. It is speculated that it played an important role economically, such as supplying meat and milk. Judging from the shape of the horns, most of the modern breeds are presumed to be the ancestors of a capra hercuse species called Bezoar, which exists in Persia and Asia, among several wild species, and the Kesmere species is believed to be the ancestor of a capra falconeri species called Markhor. are estimating

According to various archaeological data and documents, it is assumed that the transmission route of goats spread from the Middle East to Southeast Asia as wild goats were domesticated. It is also speculated that some goats from the Middle East may have spread to Southeast Asia, China and Mongolia.

Breeding history of black goats

It is not clear when black goats began to be bred in Korea. However, according to the records of livestock in the classic books, it is estimated that 11 species, including cows, sheep, pigs, horses, donkeys, and rabbits, were already raised as livestock before the Goryeo Dynasty. Among the ancient records of the Joseon Dynasty, about 54 kinds of classic books, such as sheep disease treatment, are recorded about livestock.

It is estimated that the beginning of goat breeding was when Anu brought a portrait of Confucius and 500 goats from China during the reign of King Chungseon of Goryeo and raised them in Gyeongsang-do. In addition, there is a record that domesticated goats were raised in a passage of Sangsomun in the 4th year of King Taejo, early in the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, according to previous data, there are documents that there was a kind of sheep, but it is not known whether it refers to sheep or goats. there is a record If sheep in this document refers to goat, the origin of goat breeding in the Korean Peninsula can be guessed from the words of the Samhan Period, about 2000 years ago. On the other hand, the character sheep appears in [Shindangseo], [Hujuseo] and [Suseo], but it is difficult to distinguish whether it refers to a goat or a sheep. After the establishment of the Three Kingdoms, the character sheep appeared in the epitaph recording the achievements of King Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo, and in Nihongi (599), it is recorded that Baekje sent one camel, one donkey, two sheep, and a pair of pheasants. In the Unified Silla Dynasty, Japan's [Nihongi-ryak (820)] records that Jang-haeng Lee, a Silla, offered two Goryeok sheep, four white sheep, one goat, and one goose to the emperor. In [History of Goryeo], the word goat appears for the first time in early December 1038, but it seems that it was used for ornamental purposes in the court and was not widely bred in the private sector. In addition, there is a record that sheep were raised as livestock in Goryeo Dogyeong, which was written by Seo-suk of the Song Dynasty after seeing and writing about Goryeo in 1123.

The record of universal use of sheep in the private sector is that were widely used and used by government officials and rich families in the 13th year of King Sejong. is the record of Therefore, it can be assumed that goats have been raised in the private sector as domesticated goats since about 500 years before the early Joseon Dynasty. The current Chinese character name for goats in Korea is Sanyang, which was used after the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Black goat is a general term referring to black hair color among domesticated goats. In Korea, most of the native goats' hair color was fixed to black, so the Korean native goat was established as a breed, and the native goat was soon called black goat.