American Black Angus Beef History

AECL 1000 April 15, 2009

Ryan Lipp (programmer), Will Smith, (researcher) and Natasha Wheeler (writer).

Descendent of the Great Wild Aurochs, one of today’s top market meats is Black Angus beef. A common name for the black colored Aberdeen-Angus breed, the Black Angus is a popular purebred and crossbred stock. The value of bovine animals such as these can be traced to the creation of alphabets in the dawn of various cultures. “The letter “A”, called aleph, represents an ox head turned upside down” and the second letter, of a particularly notorious rune alphabet, is called “Uruz” (Carlson, 2001). “Uruz” is the word for Aurochs, the ancestor of the modern Angus bull. The rune represents “the fierce wild cattle that tested one’s courage and skill. It also represents raw strength, energy, passion, sexuality and instinct” (Carlson, 2001). From the great Aurochs beast of the past, we now have the versatile and valuable Black (and Red) Aberdeen-Angus.

Between 2 million and 7 million years ago, a distinct species known as Bos primigenius lived in Asia (Friend, 1978). It is believed that this species, the Aurochs, is the last common ancestor of domestic cattle today. During the Pleistocene period, these animals ranged across Asia and moved into Europe and Africa (Porter, 1991). Evidence of the modern Aurochs, which survived until 1627, can be found in the writings of Julius Caesar, carved into the tomb of Egyptian king Ramases III, and painted in the Lascaux cave of France in 15,000 B.C. In the 9th century, wild Aurochs were hunted by the emperor Charlemagne (Friend, 1978). Divergence of this species occurred in the Holocene period, between 2 thousand and 3 thousand years ago. Bos longiforms includes European short-horned cattle with Jersey and Guernsey types believed to be relatively pure examples and Bos taurus includes domestic cattle with long horns, such as the West Highland Romagnola. Many modern breeds today are a mixture of these two species along with Bos indicus, which includes Zebu and hump-backed cattle of India and Africa; All species sharing common ancestor nearly 6 million years ago (Friend, 1978).

There is prehistoric evidence for cattle in Scotland without horns and records from the 1500s document cattle that were hornless and black. These animals are assumed to be ancestors of today’s Angus cattle, a cross between Scottish Angus doddies and Buchan humlies (Friend, 1978). The exact lineage of the breed is unknown, but it appears that Angus is a result of mixed herds from Forfarshire and Aberdeenshire in Scotland (American Angus Association, 1959). The recognized breed is typically black, although red coloring exists in recessive genes, and was officially noted in herd books as Aberdeen-Angus in 1867 (Porter, 1991). Two years later, the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society was officially formed and the breed is now popular all over the world (Friend, 1978).

Aberdeen-Angus was introduced into the New World in 1860 as a present to an official of the Hudson’s Bay CO. at Montreal, though records of the two animals are nowhere to be found (Sanders, 1928). Officially, the first imported Black Angus animals arrived in the United States in 1873, with George Grant of Scotland, who took them to Victoria, Kansas. The American breed society for Aberdeen-Angus was created in 1883 (Porter, 1991). By the middle of the 1900s, 30 thousand purebred animals were registered in the American Aberdeen-Angus Herd Book. An important factor of this growth can be attributed to businessmen of Chicago. James Anderson and George Findlay, residents of Illinois and descendents of Buchan and Aberdeenshire, Scotland, were major proponents of their Angus animals, commissioned by Findlay’s brother. F.B. Redfield was another important importer of Angus, beginning with 3 heifers and a bull in Batavia, New York. In 1880, fifty-five animals were imported by A.B. Matthews of Kansas City, who managed sale barns for almost ten years, now valuable enough to belong to the Kansas City Stock Yards (American Angus Association, 1959). Purebred Aberdeen-Angus in the United States today typically resemble their European ancestors, though they are often bred to be longer and taller (Porter, 1991).

The high quality of the Angus breed has made it desirable for cross-breeding in the cattle industry. Hoping to combine the beef quality and early maturity of the Angus with the heat tolerance of and disease resistance of the Zebu, the Brangus cross-breed was encouraged by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 1949, a Brangus breed association was formed. The Wokalup from Australia includes Angus heritage (amongst 4 other breeds) and the Jamaica Black is twenty-five percent Angus. Beefmaker originated in the 1960s and includes Angus as well. The Africangus includes this breed, as do two experimental breeds from Alberta University, including the Beef Synthetic and the Pee Wee. The America Beefalo must be 3/8 American Bison and 5/8 domestic bovine, and although the domestic component is not defined by breed, popular possibilities include Hereford, Charolais, or Angus beef (Porter, 1991). The dairy industry also capitalizes on Angus genetics. Since calves are usually born easily, without need for assistance, dairy heifers are often bred with Angus bulls. Overall, animals of this breed are considered to be adaptable and hardy. They mature early, produce quality meat with desirable marbling and successfully cross with other breeds to improve beef quality (Friend, 1978).

Valuable and versatile, the Black Angus is a popular beef breed today. Descendent of the Bos primigenius of millions of years ago, these animals exist now in a form true to the Angus doddies and Buchan humlies of their past while also progressing into such breeds as the Brangus and the Beefalo. Introduced into the United States by business-minded men with insight into Scottish Angus qualities, this breed is now an important part of the world economy. The Black Angus reflects the excellence of its predecessor, described by the ancient Aurochs rune: A representation of “raw strength, energy, passion, sexuality and instinct” (Carlson, 2001).

References

American Angus Association, 1959. History of Aberdeen-Angus Cattle. American Angus Association, St. Joseph, MO. pp 6 and 17-21

Carlson, L.W., 2001. Cattle: An Informal Social History. Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, IL. pp 43-44

Friend, J.B., 1978. Cattle of the World. Blanford Press Ltd., Dorset. pp 11-20 and 47

Porter, V., 1991. Cattle: A Handbook to the Breeds of the World. Facts on File, Inc. New York, NY. pp 19, 45, and 303-345

Sanders, A.H., 1928. A History of Aberdeen-Angus Cattle. The Lakeside Press, Chicago, IL. pp 136