FINDING THE AUROCHS (BOS PRIMIGENIUS BOJANUS 1825) IN THE LATE HOLOCENE OF ASIA

A m3 tooth of a large bovid (Bos) was found at the Late Holocene (Subatlantic period 1) archaeological site of Abylay (49.15 degrees N, 75.07 degrees E) in Kazakhstan. The tooth 47.3 mm in length was compared to the size of similar teeth of the Holocene aurochs (Bos primigenius) from Europe and cattle (Bos taurus) from Eastern Europe and Western Siberia of the Middle and Late Holocene (Subboreal and Subatlantic periods; Eneolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Middle Ages). Our results show the size of the tooth from Abylay as being noticeably larger than that of the cattle and is similar to the size of the teeth of the aurochs. Based of this result, we come to the conclusion that the tooth belonged to an aurochs. This observation suggests that the aurochs lived in the area of the Kazakh Uplands during the Late Holocene (Subatlantic 1). This seems to have been the last area inhabited by aurochs in Asia.