< home # store # services # articles # game # app #contact >

Domestication of the two-humped Bactrian camel, C. bactrianus; and, the one-humped dromedary, C. dromedarius occured around the neolithic era
There is also the wild two-humped camel wild Bactrian camel, C. ferus. Which has not been domesticated, is endangered and split from the other two more than 1 million years ago.

Studies believe that the Bactrian camel was first domesticated. In the cold desert region of China and Mongolia
Archaeological/archaeogenetic sources suggest domestication in central Asia perhaps ~5,000–6,000 years ago.

Some publications state cautiously “when, where and how this domestication occurred”
Camels do not usually get along with donkeys, horses or other animals used for transportation and packing.

And, this region covered a large area. Stretching from the great bend of the Yellow River, (NW China, Gansu province), through Mongolia, to Central Kazakhstan.

The domestication likely occurred among pastoralist groups in cold-desert/steppe margins of central Asia (for Bactrians)
There is still debate about exactly which region is the “origin” zone for cactrian domestication. That is. central Asia vs NW China vs Mongolia.

By the 3rd millennium BCE domestic Bactrian camels had begun to reach southern Turkmenistan and Mesopotamia.

The dromedary (one-humped), or C. dromedarius domestication begun in the Arabian peninsula. Or, maybe the horn of Africa region but is less precise
It is generally placed at about 4000-3000 BCE, in southern Arabia. Domestication likely occured or arid deserts.

Like its cousin the bactrian camel, the dromedary carries energy in the form of fat in its hump and abdomen and can survive on little or no water or food for quite a long period
Evidence for widespread domestic camel use in the Levant was probably later.

Genetic/archaeological research indicates significant admixture and movement of camel populations once domesticated
They were both used on the Silk road, and roads/trails once originated.

In most regions, including central Asia, and the Arabian peninsula. Camel domestication appears late relative to early crop/animal domestications. Like sheep, goat, cattle, and cereals. It is not a neolithic frontier institution in these regions
It was more likely bronze Age or later for mobility roles.

The archaeological evidence remains fragmentary: bone remains, iconography, dung, etc
For the Levant the domestic camel is still debated until ~1000 BCE. Domestication process may have been protracted, with incremental steps (taming, usage for load, breeding) rather than a single “event.”

Usage of camels as pack or riding animals may pre-date full ‘domestication’ though. Making ‘when domesticated’ is a fuzzy threshold. So lets use “domestication” in this context as managing breeding, use for transport/load, and possibly secondary products like milk, and wool. Not merely wild exploitation.

Bibliography: Grigson C, Gowlett JAJ, and Zarins J. 1989. The Camel in Arabia: A Direct Radiocarbon Date, Calibrated to about 7000 BC. Journal of Archaeological Science 16:355-362

Smits M, Joosten H, Faye B, Burger P. Domestication of the Dromedary Revisited and Its Consequences for Legislation as to Keeping Livestock or Pet Animals. Animals (Basel). 2023 Jun 21;13(13):2050. doi: 10.3390/ani13132050. PMID: 37443848; PMCID: PMC10339885.

Kendall, Emily. “Bactrian camel”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/animal/Bactrian-camel. Accessed 4 November 2020