<![CDATA[Latest posts for the thread "Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?"]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/31.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? only similarity is that they have hooves. Lots of creatures have hooves not just bovines. And seeing as the tau almost definitely eat meat (hunting was a big part of the culture of the fire caste before the etherials, and is still used in their tactics) I really don't get it. Is there something I'm missing here?]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994470.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994470.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994504.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994504.page GMT Re:Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994561.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994561.page GMT Re:Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
So they are omnivorous cow people. And even when they were still living in a primitive state, they almost certainly still got the vast bulk of their nutrition from plant based sources.

These are based on findings of the Imperial survey team that originally cataloged the planet of T'au. They determined the native sapient species was a descendent from local plain dwelling herbivores, obviously turned omnivore at some point.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994598.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994598.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
Was made to explain why no mention of tau had been done before, like the dark eldar who just showed up, the necrons and tau were given good backstories.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994603.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994603.page GMT Re:Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994609.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994609.page GMT Re:Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
 Grey Templar wrote:
The Tau are descendents of herbivores. Being omnivorous is a recent development for them. So yes, they are more closely related to whatever their planet's "cow" would be than they would be to any other analogous animal from Earth.

So they are omnivorous cow people. And even when they were still living in a primitive state, they almost certainly still got the vast bulk of their nutrition from plant based sources.

These are based on findings of the Imperial survey team that originally cataloged the planet of T'au. They determined the native sapient species was a descendent from local plain dwelling herbivores, obviously turned omnivore at some point.


There're two funny things to point out from this.

The first is that Tau warfare is based on their traditional hunting methods.

The second is that human beings are descendants of herbivores, and that being omnivorous is a recent development for us.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994679.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994679.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
Also there is prescedence for the eldar to claim humans are monkeys (mon-keigh). Why shouldnt people call tau bovines?]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994681.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7994681.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
C'tan is suspected to be behind this.


Uh.... what?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 triplegrim wrote:
The kroot literally being descended from a bird, also makes people make up a parrallel for the tau.

Also there is prescedence for the eldar to claim humans are monkeys (mon-keigh). Why shouldnt people call tau bovines?


"Mon-keigh" sounding like "monkey" is a joke on the part of the writers. It's simply the Eldar word for "human", but is otherwise just the 40K writers having a laugh.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7996019.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7996019.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
As for the "mon-keigh" thing, yeah it's a writer's joke, but they actually gave it a backstory in the Eldar 3rd Ed codex. Apparently, Mon-keigh were an actual race in early Eldar history that the Eldar exterminated. They weren't too bright and were cannibals. Presumably, in-universe, the similarity to the word "monkey" is a coincidence.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7996097.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7996097.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? 40K. They've been replaced by grox. "Descended from cows" is a fan-construction, not an in-universe belief.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7996441.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7996441.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?

"When the Emperor was a boy, holy cows roamed the land."]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7998882.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7998882.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7999112.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7999112.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
On a side note, the bovine references are simply fan made, and the fish references are actually Imperial Classifications not something the Tau themselves actually call themselves. This is more obvious if you read IA3 where it has the "classfied" document in front of the unit entries and it says things like "designation devilfish." Of course GW has never been one to be consistent with who's perspective everything is named from...]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7999709.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7999709.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
Nocturus wrote:
I can't remember the reference, but I thought the advanced evolution of the Tau was atributed to the Eldar?

It's either supposed to be the Harlequins, or the Necrons. Supposedly, brightly colored, lithe creatures appeared on T'au the day that the Ethereals came to Taun. Also, bright fireballs in the sky as well. There was a whole thread about it not two weeks ago, I'll see if I can't find it.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7999807.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/7999807.page GMT Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/8001302.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/8001302.page GMT Re:Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
 EmpNortonII wrote:
The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer - Damocles Gulf Edition


This is correct haha]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/8017878.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/8017878.page GMT Re:Where does the "tau are descended from bovines" thing come from?
However, Deer have been observed eating nesting chicks alive, as well as living bats trapped in nets that scientists used to catch the bats for study. Vegetarian birds have been seen chasing off carnivorous birds from meat left out on birdtables.

As meat is an incredible food resource for most animals due to the large amounts protein and fat compared to that found in plants, a lot of herbivores will supplement their diet with meat when they can in an opportunistic fashion. It's entirely possible the Tau changed their diet once they evolved tool use, and the ability to actually kill and prepare other animals. That doesn't preclude them from having herbivore ancestors.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/8017907.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/657024/8017907.page GMT