Coloring ranges from black or brown to red or white, depending on the breed.
The domesticated ox descended directly from the aurochs, an extinct species usually described as a wild ox that ranged throughout much of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Farmers increased their dependence on the ox around 4500 BC, when the development of early irrigation systems significantly increased the amount of land under cultivation. Oxen hauled carts loaded with crops from the fields to barns and to markets, pulled plows in fields, and turned wheels that lifted water from wells and canals. The ox also was used to pack personal property. So essential was the ox to the survival of humans that it was worshiped by some early religions.