Book excerpt: Over the past twenty years, a vast quantity of new information has become available on the origins, development, and current situation of African domestic animals, demanding a new synthesis. The Origins and Development of African Livestock presents an interdisciplinary overview of the origins of African livestock, placing Africa as one of the world centres for animal domestication. The authors present for the first time syntheses of what archaeozoology and archaeology can tell us about the prehistory of domestic animals in Africa, providing information on livestock distributions over time and including significant information on the development of specific cattle size classes or 'breeds' in prehistory. Current data on the DNA and physical characterization of African livestock, as well as ethnographic and linguistic data complete a biological and cultural view of African domestic animals.