Throughout the Mongolian countryside, the population is mostly nomadic, living in a type of transportable home known as an yurt. About 46% of the population of the country practices nomadic pastoralism, an economy that is ideally suited to the landscape and climate of Mongolia and one that has persisted at least since the Bronze Age. According to ancient tradition, the Mongolians refer to their five major groups of livestock as the five "snouts": sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and camels. Interestingly, the ratios of the five major types of livestock have remained essentially the same since the 13th century. Mongolians have always maintained very close ties to the land and their animals.
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