Domestication (from Latin
) or
taming is the process whereby a
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
of animals or
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. A defining characteristic of domestication is artificial selection by humans. Some species such as the Asian Elephant, numerous members of which have for many centuries been used as working animals, are not domesticated because they have not normally been bred under human control, even though they have been commonly tamed. Humans have brought these populations under their care for a wide range of reasons: to produce
foodFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
or valuable
commoditiesA commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk. In other words, copper is copper. The price of copper is universal,...
(such as
woolWool is a fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles. The wool is taken from animals in the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals including: goats, llamas, and rabbits may also be called wool...
,
cottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
, or
silkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
), for help with various types of work (such as transportation or protection), for protection of themselves and livestock, to enjoy as
companionA pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a household animal, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive...
s or
ornamental plantOrnamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, stem and bark. In some cases, unusual features may be considered ornamental, such as the...
, and for scientific research, such as finding cures for certain diseases.
Plants domesticated primarily for aesthetic enjoyment in and around the home are usually called
house plants or
ornamentals, while those domesticated for large-scale food production are generally called
crops. A distinction can be made between those domesticated plants that have been deliberately altered or selected for special desirable characteristics (see
cultigenA cultigen is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection...
) and those domesticated plants that are essentially no different from their wild counterparts (assuming domestication does not necessarily imply physical modification). Likewise, animals domesticated for home companionship are usually called
petA pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a household animal, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive...
s while those domesticated for food or work are called
livestockLivestock are one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fiber, or labor...
or
farm animals.
Background
There's debate within the scientific community over how the process of domestication works. Some researchers give credit to
natural selectionNatural selection is the process by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations...
, where mutations outside of human control make some members of a species more compatible to human cultivation or companionship. Others have shown that carefully controlled
selective breedingSelective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains which are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
is responsible for many of the collective changes associated with domestication. These categories are not mutually exclusive and it is likely that natural selection and selective breeding have both played some role in the processes of domestication throughout history. Either way, a process of selection is involved.
The domestication of
wheatWheat is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
is an example of this. Wild wheat falls to the ground to reseed itself when it is ripe, but domesticated wheat stays on the stem when it is ripe. There is evidence that this critical change came about as a result of a random mutation near the beginning of wheat's
cultivationIn agriculture, cultivation is the process of growing plants on arable land. It is usually associated with large-scale agriculture, as opposed to small-scale gardening. Crop cultivation requires fertile soil, water , and seeds. Cultivation involves the sowing of the seeds in the appropriate season...
. Wheat with this mutation was the only wheat harvested and became the seed for the next crop. This wheat was much more useful to farmers and became the basis for the various strains of domesticated wheat that have since been developed.
The example of wheat has led some to speculate that mutations may have been the basis for other early instances of domestication. It is speculated that a mutation made some wolves less wary of humans. This allowed these wolves to start following humans to scavenge for food in their garbage dumps. Presumably something like a symbiotic relationship developed between humans and this population of wolves. The wolves benefited from human food scraps, and humans may have found that the wolves could warn them of approaching enemies, help with hunting, carry loads, provide warmth, or supplement their food supply. As this relationship evolved, humans eventually began to raise the wolves and breed the types of dogs that we have today.
Some researchers maintain that selective breeding rather than mutation or natural selection best explains how the process of domestication typically worked. Some of the most well-known evidence in support of selective breeding comes from an experiment by Russian scientist,
Dmitri BelyaevDmitri Konstantinovich Belyaev - was a Russian scientist, and academician. In the 1950s Dmitri Belyaev and his team spent many years breeding the silver fox and selecting only those individuals that showed the least fear of humans. Eventually, Belyaev's team selected only those that showed the...
, in the 1950s. His team spent many years breeding the
Silver FoxThe domesticated silver fox is the result of nearly 50 years of experiments in the Soviet Union and Russia to domesticate the silver morph of the red fox. The breeding project was set up in the 1950s by the Soviet scientist Dmitri Belyaev. As a result of selective breeding, the new foxes not only...
(
Vulpes vulpes) and selecting only those individuals that showed the least fear of humans. Eventually, Belyaev's team selected only those that showed the most positive response to humans. He ended up with a population of grey-coloured foxes whose behavior and appearance was significantly changed. They no longer showed any fear of humans and often wagged their tails and licked their human caretakers to show affection. More importantly, these foxes had floppy ears, smaller skulls, rolled tails and other traits commonly found in dogs.
Despite the success of this experiment, some scientists believe that selective breeding cannot always achieve domestication. They point out that known attempts to domesticate several kinds of wild animals in this way have failed repeatedly. The
zebraZebras are African equids best known for their distinctive white and black stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals and can be seen in small harems to large herds. In addition to their stripes, zebras have erect, mohawk-like manes...
is one example. Despite the fact that four species of zebra are interbreedable with and part of the same
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
as the horse and the donkey, attempts at domestication have failed. The factors which influence 'domesticatability' of large animals (see below) are discussed in some detail in . Surprisingly only 14 species of large animal seem to be capable of domestication. In approximate order of their earliest domestication these are: dog, sheep, goat, pig, cow, horse, donkey, water buffalo, llama/alpaca, bactrian camel, and Arabian camel.
Animals
According to
evolutionary biologistEvolutionary biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication and diversity over time. Someone who studies evolutionary biology is known as an evolutionary biologist...
Jared DiamondJared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and nonfiction author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA...
,
animalAnimals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously...
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
must meet six criteria in order to be considered for domestication:
- Flexible diet
In nutrition, the diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. Although humans are omnivores, each culture holds some food preferences and some food taboos. Individual...
— Creatures that are willing to consume a wide variety of food sources and can live off less cumulative food from the food pyramidthumb|300px|right|An ecological pyramid.An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem. Biomass pyramids show the abundance or biomass of organisms at each trophic level, while productivity pyramids show...
(such as cornMaize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...
or wheatWheat is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
), particularly food that is not utilized by humans (such as grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns...
and forage) are less expensive to keep in captivityCaptivity may refer to:*Imprisonment or hostage, the state of being confined to a space from which it is difficult or impossible to escape*the same used in a figurative sense, like for example female captivity, as allegorically portrayed in The Gilded Cage, a painting by Evelyn De Morgan*Captivity...
. CarnivoreA carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' , is an animal that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of vertebrate and/or invertebrate animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
s by their very nature only feed on meatMeat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs...
, which requires the expenditure of many animals, though they may feed on sources of meat not utilized by humans, such as scraps and vermin.
- Reasonably fast growth rate
Growth rate may refer to:*Exponential growth, a growth rate classification*Compound annual growth rate or CAGR, a measure of financial growth*Economic growth, the increase in value of the goods and services produced by an economy...
— Fast maturity rate compared to the human life span allows breeding intervention and makes the animal useful within an acceptable duration of caretaking. Large animals such as elephantElephants are large land mammals in two genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta. Three species of elephant are living today: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant...
s require many years before they reach a useful size.
- Ability to be bred
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains which are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
in captivity — Creatures that are reluctant to breed when kept in captivity do not produce useful offspring, and instead are limited to capture in their wild state. Creatures such as the pandaPanda most often refer to:*Giant Panda*Red PandaPanda may also refer to:-In motor vehicles::* Fiat Panda, a car manufactured by Fiat* SEAT Panda, a car manufactured by SEAT* Panda car, a patrol car used by the British police...
, antelopeAntelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species found in the family Bovidae. The term does not refer to a monophyletic group, as not all members of Bovidae are considered antelope. Instead, the term refers to a ‘miscellaneous’ group within the family encompassing the species which...
and giant forest hogThe Giant Forest Hog is the largest wild member of the pig family Suidae. It is the only member of the genus Hylochoerus. Males can reach as much as 2 metres in length and 1.1 metres high at the shoulder and have been known to weigh as much as 600 pounds ; but such claims are often exaggeration...
s are territorial when breeding and cannot be maintained in crowded enclosures in captivity.
- Pleasant disposition — Large creatures that are aggressive
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. Predatory or defensive behavior between members of different species is not normally considered "aggression." Aggression takes a...
toward humans are dangerous to keep in captivity. The African buffaloThe African Buffalo, Affalo or Cape Buffalo is a large African bovid. It is up to 1.7 meters high, 3.4 meters long. Savannah type buffaloes weigh 500-900 kg, with only males, normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight range...
has an unpredictable nature and is highly dangerous to humans. Although similar to domesticated pigs in many ways, American peccariesPeccaries are medium-sized mammals of the family Tayassuidae. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina, as are swine and possibly hippopotami. They are found in the southwestern area of North America and throughout Central and South America...
and Africa's warthogThe Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in Africa....
s and bushpigThe Bushpig is a member of the pig family that lives in forest thickets, riverine vegetation and reedbeds close to water in Africa. They are mainly nocturnal and are seldom seen during the day...
s are also dangerous in captivity.
- Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learnt...
which makes it unlikely to panicPanic is a sudden fear which dominates or replaces thinking and often affects groups of people or animals. Panics typically occur in disaster situations, or violent situations which may endanger the overall health of the affected group...
— A creature with a nervous disposition is difficult to keep in captivity as they will attempt to flee whenever they are startled. The gazelleA gazelle is any of many antelope species currently or formerly in the genus Gazella. Six species are included in two genera which were formerly considered subgenera...
is very flighty and it has a powerful leap that allows it to escape an enclosed pen. Some animals, such as Domestic sheepDomestic sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
, still have a strong tendency to panic when their flight zoneThe flight zone of an animal is the area surrounding the animal that will cause alarm and escape behavior when encroached upon. If a person enters the flight zone of an animal, the animal will move away. The size of the flight zone depends upon the tameness of the animal. Tame animals have no...
is crossed. However, most sheep also show a flockingHerding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those...
instinct, whereby they stay close together when pressed. Livestock with such an instinct may be herded by people and dogA herding dog, also known as a stock dog, is a type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding...
s.
- Modifiable social hierarchy
Social hierarchy is a multi-tiered pyramid-like social or functional structure having an apex as the centralization of power. The term can also be applied to animal societies, but the term dominance hierarchy is preferred most times...
— Social creatures that recognize a hierarchy of dominance can be raised to recognize a human as the pack leaderLeadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”...
.
Plants
The earliest human attempts at plant domestication occurred in Asia. There is early evidence for conscious cultivation and trait selection of plants by pre-Neolithic groups in Syria: grains of
ryeRye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskies, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
with domestic traits have been recovered from Epi-Palaeolithic (ca. 11,000 BC) contexts at Abu Hureyra in
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
, but this appears to be a localised phenomenon resulting from cultivation of stands of wild rye, rather than a definitive step towards domestication.
By 10,000 BC the bottle gourd (
Lagenaria siceraria) plant, used as a container before the advent of ceramic technology, appears to have been domesticated. The domesticated bottle gourd reached the Americas from Asia by 8000 BC, most likely due to the migration of peoples from Asia to America.
Cereal crops were first domesticated around 9000 BC in the
Fertile CrescentThe Fertile Crescent is a region in the Near East, incorporating the Levant and Mesopotamia, and often incorrectly extended to Egypt. Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of civilization and saw the development of the earliest human civilizations and is the birthplace of writing and the wheel.The...
in the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The first domesticated crops were generally annuals with large seeds or fruits. These included
pulseIn botanical writing legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A'legume' fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although "pod" is also applied to a few...
s such as
peaA pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Although it is botanically a fruit, it is treated as a vegetable in cooking...
s and grains such as
wheatWheat is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
.
The Middle East was especially suited to these species; the dry-summer climate was conducive to the evolution of large-seeded annual plants, and the variety of elevations led to a great variety of species. As domestication took place humans began to move from a
hunter-gathererA hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either...
society to a settled agricultural society. This change would eventually lead, some 4000 to 5000 years later, to the first city states and eventually the rise of
civilizationA civilization is a complex society or culture group characterized by dependence upon agriculture, long-distance trade, state form of government, occupational specialization, population, and class stratification.-Definition:...
itself.
Domestication was gradual, a process of trial and error that occurred slowly. Over time perennials and small trees began to be domesticated including
appleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family Rosaceae. It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits...
s and
oliveThe Olive is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin, from Lebanon, Syria and the maritime parts of Turkey and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea...
s. Some plants were not domesticated until recently such as the macadamia nut and the
pecanThe pecan is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois and Indiana east to western Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and western Tennessee, south through Georgia,...
.
In different parts of the world very different species were domesticated. In the
AmericasThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
squashSquashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to Mexico and Central America, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. It is also natively grown in other parts of North America, and in Europe, India, and Australia...
,
maizeMaize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...
, beans, and perhaps manioc (also known as
cassavaCassava is a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
) formed the core of the diet. In East Asia
milletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
,
riceRice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies...
, and soy were the most important crops. Some areas of the world such as
Southern AfricaSouthern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and
southern South America| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" |Sao Paulo
Buenos Aires
Santiago de Chile
Montevideo
|}...
never saw local species domesticated.
Over the millennia many domesticated species have become utterly unlike their natural ancestors.
MaizeMaize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...
earsAn ear is the grain-bearing tip part of the stem of a cereal plant, such as wheat or maize.The ear is a spike, consisting of a central stem on which grows tightly packed rows of flowers. These develop into fruits containing the edible seeds....
are now dozens of times the size of those of wild
teosintethumb|180px|right|Microscopic view of Zea seedThe teosintes are a group of large grasses of the genus Zea found in Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua....
. A similar change occurred between wild strawberries and
domesticated strawberriesGarden strawberries are a common kind of strawberry cultivated worldwide. Like other species of Fragaria , it belongs to the family Rosaceae. Technically, it is not a fruit, but a false fruit, meaning the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries but from the peg at the bottom of the...
.
Domesticated plant species often differ from their wild relatives in predictable ways. These differences are called the domestication syndrome, and include:
- Higher germination rates
- More predictable & synchronous germination
- Increased size of reproductive organs
- A tendency for ripe seeds to stay on the plant, rather than breaking off and falling to the ground
- Reduced physical and chemical defences
- Change in biomass allocation (more in fruits, roots, or stems, depending on human preference)
Degrees
Due to elephants' slow growth, the boundaries between surviving wild populations and domestic
cladesCladistics is a form of biological systematics which classifies living organisms on the basis of shared ancestry...
can be vague. Similar problems of definition arise when domesticated cats go feral. A
classificationCategorization is the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Categorization implies that objects are grouped into categories, usually for some specific purpose. Ideally, a category illuminates a relationship between the subjects and objects of knowledge...
system that can help solve this confusion surrounding animal populations might be set up on a spectrum of increasing domestication:
- Wild: These populations experience their full life cycles without deliberate human intervention.
- Raised in Captivity/Captured from Wild (in zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s botanical gardenBotanical gardens grow a wide variety of plants primarily to categorize and document for scientific purposes. Botanists and horticulturalists tend the flora and maintain the garden's library and herbarium of dried and documented plant material. Botanical gardens may also serve to entertain and...
s, or for human gain): These populations are nurtured by humans but (except in zoos) not normally bred under human control. They remain as a group essentially indistinguishable in appearance or behaviour from their wild counterparts. Examples include Asian elephants, animals such as sloth bears and cobras used by showmen in India, and animals such as Asian black bears (farmed for their bile), and zoo animals, kept in captivity as examples of their species. (It should be noted that zoos and botanical gardens sometimes exhibit domesticated or feral animals and plants such as camels, mustangA Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish...
s, and some orchids.)
- Raised commercially (captive or semidomesticated): These populations are ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ed or farmA farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, corporation...
ed in large numbers for food, commodities, or the pet trade, commonly breed in captivity, but as a group are not substantially altered in appearance or behavior from their wild cousins. Examples include the ostrichThe ostrich, Struthio camelus, is a large flightless bird native to Africa. It is the only living species of its family, Struthionidae and its genus, Struthio. Ostriches share the order Struthioniformes with the kiwis, and other ratites...
, various deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
, alligatorAn Alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicized form of el lagarto the Spanish term for "lizard", the name by which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator...
, cricketCrickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
, pearlA pearl is a hard, generally spherical object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and...
oysterThe word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
, and ball pythonPython regius is a non-venomous python species found in Africa. This is the smallest of the African pythons and is popular in the pet trade. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...
. (These species are sometimes referred to as partially domesticated.)
- Domesticated: These populations are bred and raised under human control for many generations and are substantially altered as a group in appearance or behaviour. Examples include the Ferret
The ferret is a domestic mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females...
s, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
s, canariesThe Canary , also called the Island Canary, Atlantic Canary or Common Canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Serinus in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is native to the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. Wild birds are mostly yellow-green, with brownish streaking on the...
, Domestic PigeonThe domestic pigeon was derived from the Rock Pigeon. The Rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated bird. Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets mention the domestication of pigeons more than 5,000 years ago, as do Egyptian hieroglyphics.Research suggests that domestication of pigeons was as early as...
s, the BudgerigarThe Budgerigar , is a small parrot and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...
, the peach-faced Lovebird, dogThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
s, catThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s, sheep, cattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, chickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird...
s, llamaThe llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains. In South America llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat....
s, guinea pigThe guinea pig , also commonly called the Cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not pigs, nor do they come from Guinea...
s, laboratory miceA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse and the deer mouse also sometimes live in houses. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common...
, and goatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s.
This classification system does not account for several complicating factors: genetically modified organisms,
feralA feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, can disrupt ecosystems and may, in some cases, contribute to extinction of indigenous...
populations, and hybridization. Many species that are farmed or ranched are now being genetically modified. This creates a unique category because it alters the organisms as a group but in ways unlike traditional domestication. Feral organisms are members of a population that was once raised under human control, but is now living and multiplying outside of human control. Examples include
mustangsA Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish...
. Hybrids can be wild, domesticated, or both: a
ligerThe liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress , hence has parents with the same genus but of different species. It is distinct from the similar hybrid tigon. It is the largest of all cats and extant felines.Ligers borrow positive characteristics from both species...
is a hybrid of two wild animals, a
muleA mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
is a hybrid of two domesticated animals, and a
beefaloBeefalo are a fertile hybrid offspring of domestic cattle, Bos taurus, and the American bison, Bison bison...
is a cross between a wild and a domestic animal.
A great difference exists between a tame animal and a domesticated animal. The term "domesticated" refers to an entire species or variety while the term "tame" can refer to just one individual within a species or variety. Humans have tamed many thousands of animals that have never been truly domesticated. These include the elephant, giraffes, and bears. There is debate over whether some species have been domesticated or just tamed. Some state that the elephant has been domesticated, while others argue the cat has never been. Dividing lines include whether a specimen born to wild parents would differ in appearance or behavior from one born to domesticated parents. For instance a dog is certainly domesticated because even a wolf (genetically the origin of all dogs) raised from a
pup- In zoology :* Puppies, younger dogs** other young members of the Canidae family* Pups, young members of the Pinniped family and also of some otters, specifically the Giant Otter, Marine Otter, and sea otter* a baby Ichthyosaur...
would be very different from a dog, in both appearance and behaviour.
Limits
Selection of animals for visible “desirable” traits may make them unfit in other, unseen, ways. The consequences for the captive and domesticated animals were reduction in size, piebald color, shorter faces with smaller and fewer teeth, diminished horns, weak muscle ridges, and less genetic variability. Poor joint definition, late fusion of the limb bone epiphyses with the diaphyses, hair changes, greater fat accumulation, smaller brains, simplified behavior patters, extended immaturity, and more pathology are a few of the defects of domestic animals, All of these changes have been documented in direct observations of the rat in the 19th century, by archaeological evidence, and confirmed by animal breeders in the 20th century.
One side effect of domestication has been zoonotic diseases. For example, cattle have given humanity various
viral poxPoxviruses are viruses that can, as a family, infect both vertebrate and invertebrate animals.Four genera of poxviruses may infect humans: orthopox, parapox, yatapox, molluscipox....
es,
measlesMeasles is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, and
tuberculosisTuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria...
; pigs and ducks have given
influenzaInfluenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals. The name influenza is Italian and means "influence"...
; and horses have given the
rhinovirusRhinovirus was a genus of the Picornaviridae family of viruses.It has been now merged into Enteroviruses, a group of Picornaviridae that includes Poliovirus, Coxsackie A virus, and Hepatitis A....
es. Humans share over sixty diseases with dogs. Many parasites also have their origins in domestic animals. The advent of domestication resulted in denser human populations which provided ripe conditions for pathogens to reproduce, mutate, spread, and eventually find a new host in humans
Additionally, the domestication of plants and animals has been seen by some to have caused fundamental damage to the human psyche. In particular, “it demeans and destroys the meaning of wild species by substituting rough, inferior copies for reality, subverting a true biophilia; it injures the perceiver, too, by granting him powers over the animal and a kind of
ersatzErsatz is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement. Although it is used as an adjective in English, Ersatz can only function in German as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile or Ersatzspieler...
familial responsibility that become part of the human personality.”
Dates and places
Since the process of domestication inherently takes many generations over a long period of time, and the spread of breed and husbandry techniques is also slow, it is not meaningful to give a single "date of domestication". However, it is believed that the first attempt at domestication of both animals and plants were made in the Old World by peoples of the Mesolithic Period. The tribes that took part in hunting and gathering wild edible plants, started to make attempts to domesticate dogs, goats, and possibly sheep, which was as early as 9000 BC. However, it was not until the Neolithic Period that primitive agriculture appeared as a form of social activity, and domestication was well under way. The great majority of domesticated animals and plants that still serve man were selected and developed during the Neolithic Period, a few other examples appeared later. The rabbit for example, was not domesticated until the Middle Ages, while the sugar beet came under cultivation as a sugar-yielding agricultural plant in the 19th century. As recently as the 20th century, mint became an object of agricultural production, and animal breeding programs to produce high-quality fur were started in the same time period.
The methods available to estimate domestication dates introduce further uncertainty, especially when domestication has occurred in the distant past. So the dates given here should be treated with caution; in some cases evidence is scanty and future discoveries may alter the dating significantly.
Dates and places of domestication are mainly estimated by
archaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
methods, more precisely archaeozoology. These methods consist of excavating or studying the results of excavation in human prehistorical occupation sites. Animal remains are dated with archaeological methods, the species they belong to is determined, the age at death is also estimated, and if possible the form they had, that is to say a possible domestic form. Various other clues are taken advantage of, such as slaughter or cutting marks. The aim is to determine if they are game or raised animal, and more globally the nature of their relationship with humans. For example the skeleton of a cat found buried close to humans is a clue that it may have been a pet cat. The age structure of animal remains can also be a clue of husbandry, in which animals were killed at the optimal age.
New technologies and especially
mitochondrial DNAMitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use...
, which are simple DNA found in the mitochondria that determine its function in the cell provide an alternative angle of investigation, and make it possible to reestimate the dates of domestication based on research into the genealogical tree of modern domestic animals.
It is admitted for several species that domestication occurred in several places distinctly. For example, research on mitochondrial DNA of the modern cattle Bos taurus supports the archaeological assertions of separate domestication events in Asia and Africa. This research also shows that Bos taurus and Bos indicus haplotypes are all descendants of the extinct wild ox Bos primigenius. However, this does not rule out later crossing inside a species; therefore it appears useless to look for a separate wild ancestor for each domestic breed.
The first animal to be domesticated appears to have been the dog, in the
Upper PaleolithicThe Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia...
era; this preceded the domestication of other species by several millennia. In the
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
a number of important species (such as the goat, sheep, pig and cow) were domesticated, as part of
the spread of farming which characterizes this periodHowever, the Neolithic Revolution involved far more than the adoption of a limited set of food-producing techniques. During the next millennia it would transform the small, mobile and fairly egalitarian groups of hunter-gatherers that had hitherto dominated human history, into sedentary societies...
. The goat, sheep and pig in particular
were domesticated independently in the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
and
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
.
There is early evidence of
beekeepingBeekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and beeswax, to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary.-Origins:There are more than...
, in the form of
rock paintingCave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest known European cave paintings date to Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known...
s, dating to 13,000 BC.
Recent archaeological evidence from Cyprus indicates domestication of a type of
catThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
by perhaps 9500 BC.
The earliest secure evidence of
horseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
domestication, bit wear on horse molars at
DereivkaDereivka is a site associated with the Sredny Stog culture dating ca. 4500—3500 BC of the middle Dnieper region.Note: Since this name does not exist in the region, Mallory must mean Deryevka near south west of Kremenchuk on the right bank Dnieper, the village in Onufriivskyi Raion of the...
in Ukraine, dates to around 4000BC. The
unequivocal date of domestication and use as a means of transport is at the
SintashtaThe Sintashta fortified settlement in the southern Urals is dated to ca. 2000–1600 BC. It was excavated between 1968 and 1986 and gave its name to the Sintashta-Petrovka culture. The site is located in Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia, ca. ....
chariot burials in the southern Urals, ca 2000 BC. Local equivalents and smaller species were domesticated from the 2500s BC.
The availability of both domesticated vegetable and animal species increased suddenly following the voyages of
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
and the contact between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. This is part of what is referred to as the
Columbian ExchangeThe Columbian Exchange was the enormous widespread exchange of plants, animals, foods, human populations , communicable diseases, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres that occurred after Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas. It was one of the most significant events...
.
Approximate dates and locations of original domestication
| Species | Date | Location |
|---|
DogThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
(Canis lupus familiaris) |
15000 BC |
East AsiaEast Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically and geo-politically, it covers about , or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang,...
and AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
|
SheepDomestic sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
(Ovis orientalis aries) |
between 9-11000 BC |
Southwest AsiaWestern Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East - which describes geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than location within Asia...
|
GoatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
(Capra aegagrus hircus) |
10000 BC |
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
|
PigThe domestic pig is normally given the scientific name Sus scrofa scrofa, though some taxonomists use the term S. domestica, reserving S. scrofa for the wild boar...
(Sus scrofa domestica) |
9000 BC |
Near East Near East today is an ambiguous term that covers different countries for archeologists and historians, on one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
|
| Cow (Bos primigenius taurus) |
8000 BC |
India The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent and other terms, is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate south of the Himalayas, forming a peninsula which extends southward into the Indian Ocean...
, Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
|
CatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
(Felis catus) |
7500 BC |
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
and Near EastNear East today is an ambiguous term that covers different countries for archeologists and historians, on one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
|
ChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird...
(Gallus gallus domesticus) |
6000 BC |
India The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent and other terms, is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate south of the Himalayas, forming a peninsula which extends southward into the Indian Ocean...
and Southeast AsiaManila Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Kuala Lumpur Singapore Yangon Bandung Hanoi Surabaya Taichung Kaohsiung Medan|-|}...
|
Guinea pigThe guinea pig , also commonly called the Cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not pigs, nor do they come from Guinea...
(Cavia porcellus) |
5000 BC |
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
|
DonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
(Equus africanus asinus) |
5000 BC |
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
|
| Domesticated duck Domesticated ducks are ducks that are raised for meat, eggs and down. Many ducks are also kept for show, as pets or for their ornamental value. Almost all of the varieties of domesticated ducks are descended from the Mallard , apart from the Muscovy Duck .-Breeds:There are many existing breeds...
(Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) |
4000 BC |
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
|
| Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) |
4000 BC |
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
|
HorseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
(Equus ferus caballus) |
4000 BC |
Eurasian Steppes |
DromedaryThe dromedary or Arabian camel is a large even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula...
(Camelus dromedarius) |
4000 BC |
Arabia |
LlamaThe llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains. In South America llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat....
(Lama glama) |
3500 BC |
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
|
| Silkworm (Bombyx mori) |
3000 BC |
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
|
ReindeerThe reindeer , also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the Arctic and Subarctic.- Distribution and habitat :...
(Rangifer tarandus) |
3000 BC |
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
|
Rock pigeonThe domestic pigeon was derived from the Rock Pigeon. The Rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated bird. Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets mention the domestication of pigeons more than 5,000 years ago, as do Egyptian hieroglyphics.Research suggests that domestication of pigeons was as early as...
(Columba livia) |
3000 BC |
Mediterranean BasinThe Mediterranean Basin comprises the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic...
|
| Goose (Anser anser domesticus) |
3000 BC |
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
|
Bactrian camelThe Bactrian Camel is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of north eastern Asia. It is one of the two surviving species of camel...
(Camelus bactrianus) |
2500 BC |
Central Asia Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.Various definitions of its...
|
YakThe yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population. In Tibetan, the word gyag refers only to the male of the...
(Bos grunniens) |
2500 BC |
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
|
BantengThe Banteng , also known as Tembadau, is a species of wild cattle found in Southeast Asia.Banteng have been domesticated in several places in Southeast Asia, and there are around 1.5 million domestic Banteng, which are called Bali cattle. These animals are used as working animals, and for their meat...
(Bos javanicus) |
Unknown |
Southeast AsiaManila Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Kuala Lumpur Singapore Yangon Bandung Hanoi Surabaya Taichung Kaohsiung Medan|-|}...
, Java Island |
GayalGayal is the domestic gaur, probably a gaur-cattle hybrid breed.The wild group and the domesticated group are sometimes considered separate species, with the wild gaur called Bibos gauris or Bos gaurus, and the domesticated gayal or mithun called Bos frontalis Lambert, 1804.When wild Bos gaurus...
(Bos gaurus frontalis) |
Unknown |
Southeast AsiaManila Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Kuala Lumpur Singapore Yangon Bandung Hanoi Surabaya Taichung Kaohsiung Medan|-|}...
|
AlpacaAlpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea-level, throughout...
(Vicugna pacos) |
1500 BC |
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
|
FerretThe ferret is a domestic mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females...
(Mustela putorius furo) |
1500 BC- |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
|
| Muscovy Duck (Cairina momelanotus) |
Unknown |
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
|
GuineafowlThe guineafowl are a family of birds in the Galliformes order, although some authorities include the guineafowl as a subfamily, Numidinae, of the family Phasianidae...
|
Unknown |
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
|
Common carpThe Common carp or European carp is a widespread freshwater fish most closely related to the common goldfish , with which it is capable of interbreeding. It gives its name to the carp family Cyprinidae. Common carp are native to Asia and Eastern Europe...
|
Unknown |
East AsiaEast Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically and geo-politically, it covers about , or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang,...
|
Domesticated turkeyThe domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird. The modern domesticated turkey descends from the wild turkey , one of the two species of turkey ; in the past the ocellated turkey was also domesticated.The turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry,...
|
500 BC |
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
|
GoldfishGoldfish are small ornamental freshwater fish that are commonly kept as pets. Goldfish were one of the earliest breed of fish to be domesticated and are still one of the most commonly kept fish in aquariums and outdoor water gardens.Goldfish were originally domesticated from the Prussian carp ,...
|
Unknown |
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
|
| European Rabbit The European Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
|
1600 |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
|
Second circle
| Species | Date | Location |
|---|
ZebuZebu, Bos primigenius indicus or Bos indicus, sometimes known as humped cattle or indicus cattle, are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...
(Bos primigenius indicus) |
8000 BC |
India |
Honey beeHoney bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
|
4000 BC |
Multiple places |
Asian ElephantThe Asian or Asiantic Elephant , sometimes known by the name of one of its subspecies – the Indian Elephant, is one of the three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus Elephas. It is the largest living land animal in Asia...
|
2000 BC |
Indus Valley civilizationThe Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which centred mostly in the western part of the Indian Subcontinent and flourished around the Indus river basin....
|
Fallow DeerThe Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.The male is a buck, the female is a doe, and the young a fawn. Bucks are 140-160 cm long and 90-100 cm shoulder height, and 60-85 kg in weight; does are 130-150 cm long and 75-85 cm shoulder height, and 30-50 kg in weight. Fawns...
|
1000 BC |
Mediterranean BasinThe Mediterranean Basin comprises the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic...
|
Indian PeafowlThe Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, also known as the Common Peafowl or the Blue Peafowl, is one of the species of bird in the genus Pavo of the Phasianidae family known as peafowl. The Indian Peafowl is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced into many parts of the...
|
500 BC |
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
|
Barbary DoveThe Ringneck Dove, Ring Dove, or Barbary Dove, Streptopelia risoria, is a domestic member of the dove family .Although the Ringneck Dove is normally assigned its own systematic name, as Streptopelia risoria, considerable doubt exists as to its appropriate classification...
|
500 BC |
North Africa North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia,Mauritania, and...
|
| Japanese Quail The Japanese Quail, Coturnix japonica, is a species of quail found in East Asia. They are a migratory species, breeding in Manchuria, southeastern Siberia, and northern Japan, and wintering in the south of Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and southern China. They dwell in grasslands and cultivated...
(see QuailQuail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds in the pheasant family Phasianidae. New World quails and buttonquails are not closely related but named for their similar appearance and behaviour....
) |
1100–1900 |
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
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CanaryThe Canary , also called the Island Canary, Atlantic Canary or Common Canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Serinus in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is native to the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. Wild birds are mostly yellow-green, with brownish streaking on the...
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1600 |
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
, EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
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Mandarin DuckThe Mandarin Duck , or just Mandarin, is a medium-sized perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck. It is 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan....
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Unknown |
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
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Mute SwanThe Mute Swan is a species of swan, and hence in turn a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa...
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1000–1500 |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
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Modern instances
| Species | Date | Location |
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Fancy ratThe fancy rat is a domesticated brown rat , which is the most common type of pet rat. The name fancy rat derives from the idea of animal fancy or the phrase, "to fancy" ....
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1800s |
UK |
FoxFox is a common name for many species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail ....
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1800s |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
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MinkThere are two living species referred to as "mink": the American Mink and the European Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels...
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1800s |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
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BudgerigarThe Budgerigar , is a small parrot and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...
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1850s |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
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CockatielThe Cockatiel , also known as the Quarrion and the Weiro, is the smallest and genuinely miniature cockatoo endemic to Australia. They are prized as a household pet and companion parrot throughout the world and are relatively easy to breed...
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1870s |
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
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Zebra FinchThe Zebra Finch, Taeniopygia guttata, is the most common and familiar estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool moist south and the tropical far north. It also can be found natively in Indonesia and Timor-Leste...
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1900s |
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
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HamsterHamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 24 species, classified in six or seven genera....
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1930s |
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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Silver FoxThe domesticated silver fox is the result of nearly 50 years of experiments in the Soviet Union and Russia to domesticate the silver morph of the red fox. The breeding project was set up in the 1950s by the Soviet scientist Dmitri Belyaev. As a result of selective breeding, the new foxes not only...
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1950s |
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
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| Muskox |
1960s |
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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Corn SnakeThe corn snake , or red rat snake, is a North American species of rat snake that subdue their small prey with constriction. The name “corn snake” comes from the fact that they have a maize-like pattern on their bellies and because they were found in corn fields. The Oxford English Dictionary cites...
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1960s |
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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Ball pythonPython regius is a non-venomous python species found in Africa. This is the smallest of the African pythons and is popular in the pet trade. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...
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1960s |
Madagascar hissing cockroachThe Madagascar hissing cockroach , also known as the hissing roach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2–3 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African coast, where they can be found in rotting logs.Unlike most cockroaches, they are...
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1960s |
Red DeerThe Red Deer is one of the largest deer species. The Red Deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor and parts of western and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to...
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1970s |
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
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HedgehogA hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to North America;...
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1980s |
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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Sugar GliderThe Sugar Glider is a small marsupial originally native to eastern and northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and introduced to Tasmania.- Physical description :...
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1980s |
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
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SkunkSkunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul-smelling odor. General appearance ranges from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
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1980s |
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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A project is underway to find the genetic basis for taming. Researchers at the Max Planck institute in Germany have obtained two sets of rats bred in Russia. One set was selected for aggressiveness and another for tameness, mimicking the process by which neolithic farmers first domesticated animals.
Former instances
Some species are said to have been domesticated, but are not any more, either because they have totally disappeared, or since their domestic form no longer exists. Examples include the
JaguarundiThe jaguarundi is a medium-sized wild cat that ranges from southern Texas in the United States south to South America. The average length is 65 cm with 45 cm of tail and a weight of about 6 kg . It has short legs and an appearance somewhat like an otter; the ears are short and rounded...
, the
KakapoThe Kakapo , Strigops habroptila , also called owl parrot, is a species of flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand...
, the
Ring-tailed CatThe ringtail is a mammal of the raccoon family, native to arid regions of North America. It is also known as the ringtail cat, ring-tailed cat or miner's cat, and is also sometimes mistakenly called a "civet cat"...
, the African and
AsianThe Asian or Asiantic Elephant , sometimes known by the name of one of its subspecies – the Indian Elephant, is one of the three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus Elephas. It is the largest living land animal in Asia...
elephants (See
War elephantA war elephant is an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks....
) and
Bos aegyptiacusThe Ancient Egyptian cattle Bos aegyptiacus was a domesticated form of ox of uncertain origin. The earliest evidence of Bos aegyptiacus is from the Fayum region, dating back to the 8th millennium BC....
.
Hybrid domestic animals
- Alpaca
Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea-level, throughout...
: DNA evidence shows that they're a llamaThe llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains. In South America llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat....
/vicuñaThe vicuña or vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fiber...
hybrid
- Beefalo
Beefalo are a fertile hybrid offspring of domestic cattle, Bos taurus, and the American bison, Bison bison...
- Bengal cat
Bengal Cat may refer to:*Leopard Cat*Bengal , a domestic cat breed...
- Cama (animal)
A Cama is a hybrid between a camel and a llama, produced via artificial insemination by Dr Julian "Lulu" Skidmore, who helped develop the cama for the Dubai Camel Reproduction Centre...
- Chausie
A Chausie is a hybrid of the domestic cat and the Jungle Cat . Generations are identified by F1, F2 etc, with F1 being the offspring of the original cat and jungle cat mating. Males in the F1 to F3 generations are usually sterile; however, some F4 males may be fertile...
- Cheetoh
The Cheetoh cat breed is derived from crossings between specific Bengal cat and Ocicat bloodlines.The Cheetoh cat incorporates the distinctive spotted coat characteristics from both the Ocicat and the Bengal breeds. Notably that of harnessing the pronounced spotting from the Bengal breed and the...
- Coydog
A coydog is the hybrid offspring of a male coyote and a female dog . Together they are genetically capable of producing fertile young. The dogote, a similar hybrid, is the result of breeding a male domestic dog with a female coyote...
- Dzo
A dzo is a hybrid of a yak and domestic cattle. The word dzo technically refers to a male hybrid, while a female is known as a dzomo or zhom. Alternative Romanizations of the Tibetan names include zho and zo. In Mongolian it is called khainag...
- Fantasy frog
- Sheep-goat hybrid
A sheep–goat hybrid is the hybrid offspring of a sheep and a goat. Although sheep and goats seem similar and can be mated together, they belong to different genera. Goats belong to the genus Capra and have 60 chromosomes, while sheep belong to the genus Ovis and have 54 chromosomes. The offspring...
- Hinny
A hinny is a domestic equine hybrid which is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey . It is similar to the more common mule, but mules are the product of a female horse and a male donkey....
- Huarizo
A huarizo is a cross between a male llama and a female alpaca. It is generally bred for its exceptional fleece. Huarizo are generally sterile, but recent genetic research conducted at the University of Minnesota Rochester suggests that it may be possible to preserve fertility with minimal genetic...
- Iron Age Pig
The Iron age pig is a hybrid between a Wild Boar and a domestic pig meant to recreate the type of primitive pig found in the historic Iron Age. The project started in the early 1980s by crossing a male boar with a Tamworth sow to produce an animal that looks like the pig from long ago...
- Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
- Savannah (cat)
The Savannah is a hybrid domestic cat breed. It is a cross between the serval and a domestic cat.-History:Bengal breeder Judee Frank crossbred a male Serval, belonging to Suzi Woods, with a Siamese to produce the first Savannah cat on April 7, 1986...
- Tigon
A tigon, tion or tigron is a hybrid cross between a male tiger and a lioness , hence has parents with the same genus but of different species. The tigon is not currently as common as the converse hybrid, the liger; however, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tigons were more common than...
- Wolfdog
A wolf-dog hybrid is a canid hybrid resulting from the mating of a wolf and a dog . The term "wolfdog" is preferred by most wolfdog proponents and breeders since the domestic dog was recently taxonomically recategorized as a subspecies of wolf...
- Wolphin
A wholphin or wolphin is a rare hybrid, born from a mating of bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus , and a false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens...
- Yakalo
A yakalo is a hybrid of a yak and a buffalo produced by selective breeding....
- Zeedonk
A zonkey is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. The generic name for crosses between zebras and horses or asses is zebroid or zebra mule. "Zonkey" is not the technically correct name for such a cross...
- Zetland
Zetland can refer to:Places* Zetland, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia* Zetland, an archaic spelling of ShetlandOther* Marquess of Zetland* Zetland Lifeboat* A type of Zony that's a cross between a male zebra and a female Shetland pony...
- Zorse
A zorse or zebroid, specifically the offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare. The rarer reverse pairing is sometimes called a horbra...
- Zony
A zony is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a pony mare. Medium size pony mares are preferred in order to produce riding zonies, but zebras have been crossed with smaller pony breeds such as the Shetland resulting in so-called "Zetlands"...
- Zubron
Żubroń or zubron is a hybrid of domestic cattle and wisent. The wisent is the European bison hence the żubroń is analogous to the American Beefalo...
Genetic pollution
Animals of domestic origin and
feralA feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, can disrupt ecosystems and may, in some cases, contribute to extinction of indigenous...
ones sometimes can produce fertile hybrids with native, wild animals which leads to
genetic pollutionGenetic pollution is undesirable gene flow into wild populations. The term is usually associated with the gene flow from a genetically engineered organism to a non GE organism; however, conservation biologists and conservationists are using it to describe gene flow from a domestic, feral,...
in the naturally evolved wild gene pools, many a times threatening rare species with
extinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species...
. Cases include the mallard duck, wildcat, wild boar, the rock dove or pigeon, the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) (ancestor of all chickens), carp, and more recently salmon. Another example is the
dingoThe Dingo is a domestic dog which has reverted to a wild state for thousands of years and today lives largely independent from humans in the majority of its distribution....
, itself an early feral dog, which hybridizes with dogs of European origin. On the other hand, genetic pollution seems not to be noticed for rabbits. There is much debate over the degree to which feral hybridization compromises the purity of a wild species. In the case of the mallard, for example, some claim there are no populations which are completely free of any domestic ancestor.
See also
- Lists and timelines
- Articles
- Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry, also called animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock. It has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
- Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was the enormous widespread exchange of plants, animals, foods, human populations , communicable diseases, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres that occurred after Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas. It was one of the most significant events...
- Domestication of the horse
There are a number of hypotheses on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BC, these were truly wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. How and when horses became domesticated is disputed...
- Experimental evolution
In evolutionary and experimental biology, the field of experimental evolution is concerned with testing hypotheses and theories of evolution by use of controlled experiments. Evolution may be observed in the laboratory as populations adapt to new environmental conditions and/or change by such...
- Feral
A feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, can disrupt ecosystems and may, in some cases, contribute to extinction of indigenous...
- Gene pool
In population genetics, a gene pool is the complete set of unique alleles in a species or population.- Description :A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense selection...
- Genetic erosion
Genetic erosion is a process whereby an already limited gene pool of an endangered species of plant or animal diminishes even more when individuals from the surviving population die off without getting a chance to meet and breed with others in their endangered low population.Genetic erosion occurs...
- Genetic pollution
Genetic pollution is undesirable gene flow into wild populations. The term is usually associated with the gene flow from a genetically engineered organism to a non GE organism; however, conservation biologists and conservationists are using it to describe gene flow from a domestic, feral,...
- Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes. Genetic engineering is different from traditional breeding, where the organism's genes are manipulated indirectly...
- Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
- Hybrid
- Lion taming
Lion taming is the practice of taming lions, either for protection, whereby the practice was probably created, or, more commonly, entertainment, particularly in the circus. The term is also often used for the taming and display of other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and pumas...
- Marker assisted selection
Marker assisted selection or marker aided selection ' is a process whereby a marker is used for indirect selection of a genetic determinant or determinants of a trait of interest...
- Military animals
- Pedomorphosis
In developmental biology, pedomorphosis or juvenification is a phenotypic and/or genotypic change in which the adults of a species retain traits previously seen only in juveniles. Peramorphosis is change in the reverse direction. Pedomorphosis was first proposed by Walter Garstang in 1922...
- Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains which are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
- Self-domestication
- Wildness
Wildness is literally the quality of being wild or untamed, but further to this, it has been defined as a quality produced in nature , as that which emerges from a forest , and as a level of achievement in nature...
- Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
- Related
- Domestication theory
Domestication theory is an approach in science and technology studies and media studies that describes the processes by which innovations, especially new technology is 'tamed' or appropriated by its users. First, technologies are integrated into everyday life and adapted to daily practices....
describes the process of the 'taming' or appropriation of technologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
by its users.
External links