Ancient Agriculture: Camels
By EBKWiki - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=155467975
Camelids in North America, where they originated, died out with many other megafauna between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, though we have not found fossils that show definite evidence of being hunted. They might have died out simply because of alterations to their habitat made by humans. They spread through Afro-Eurasia, especially in northern Africa and southwest and central Asia after they migrated across Beringia, the now submerged land bridge between North America and Eurasia, between 3-1 million years ago. The dromedary camel, which has a single fatty hump on its back and make up about 94% of today's camels, and the Bactrian camel, which has two fatty humps on its back, diverged about 1 million years ago. There are under 1,000 wild Bactrain camels surviving today living in Northwest China and southwestern Mongolia. There are about 700,000 feral dromedary camels living in Australia.
By J. Patrick Fischer - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17859427
Camels are uniquely adapted to live in rather dry areas, such as being able to lose up to 30% of their body weight due to dehydration, only losing about 1.3 liters per day due to respiration and excretion per day, and being able to store up to 140 liters of water in their bloodstream at a time. They reabsorb much of the water vapor from exhalation in their noses before its lost. They also have a complex of arteries and veins that are very close to each other that regulate the temperature to their brain known as a rete mirabile. They also rarely sweat, but when they do, their fur holds the sweat close to their skin, meaning that the heat that causes the sweat to evaporate comes from their body rather than the air, making their sweat more effective. They are capable of going up to 10 days without drinking and can get enough water from their food to not need to drink. Camels have dense fur that serves to insulate them from heat, as do their long legs and dromedaries have a thick pad on their sternum that allows them to rest on the ground, but allow air to circulate under them to keep them cooler.
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Despite common belief, the humps on the back of the camel are fat, not water. When they need to use the calories stored in their humps, they end up losing water through their lungs and respiration. As this happens, their humps become limp and begin to droop. This is more dramatic in the Bactrain camel as their dual humps are more easily seen above their spine.
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It is uncertain when humans first domesticated camels, but it is thought that dromedaries were first domesticated either in modern day Somalia or South Arabia in the 3rd millennium BCE, with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis leaning toward the southeastern Arabian Peninsula. Bactrain camels were domesticated in central Asia around 2,500 BCE, which is supported by mtDNA, likely east of the Zagros Mountains. From there, Bactrain camels were moved into Mesopotamia. Interestingly, camels did not reach the southern Levant until around 930 BCE based on archaeological evidence.
By Fjmustak - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53224505
Camels were domesticated for their use as pack animals as well as for their coats and for food. They can carry up to 450 kg for long treks over land that would be hostile to horses because of its temperature or lack of water. They can do this for 6-8 months out of the year, with the remainder of the year used for them to recover their strength. During this time, Bactrain can be sheered or combed for their fiber, which is very insulating. The longer, guard hairs are more often used for rugs or for yurt cloths. When felted, the fiber made from the guard hairs is waterproof. The undercoat is used in weaving or hand knitting or crochet.
By Garrondo - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4613526
Camel milk is very nutritious, with some nomads able to live on it and nothing else for almost a month. It can be used to make yogurt, butter, and ice cream, but not cheese because rennet doesn't cause the formation of curds, though a way to do so was discovered in the 1990s. They are also used for their meat, which is also very nutritious, though it is eaten mainly in arid regions, with some people also drinking the blood as a source of iron, vitamin D, minerals, and salts. Though the camel is an even-toed ungulate, because its hooves are not fully split, it's milk and meat are considered unclean. Whether Muslims consider it halal or not is more complicated.
