This gave us time to create tools that helped boost efficiencies in farming and agriculture, leading to the world as we know it today. This is because agriculture meant fewer people could provide more food to humans on a mass scale, so people had more time to focus on other things like creative pursuits, scientific research, etc. Domesticating plants and animals created a world with stable food production, which enabled the human population to boom worldwide. The domestication of species has helped create our modern society. When it comes to domesticating animals, herbivores (like cows) are generally the easiest to convert because they’re easier to feed than animals that rely on meats or grains, which need to be sourced or domesticated themselves. Scientific research suggests that the modern horse originated in Central Asia, and were selectively bred for their exceptional back strength and overall resilience. Horses are thought to be some of the first animals domesticated for work.
This was around the same time that humanity shifted from a hunter-gathering lifestyle to an agricultural society.
Humans domesticate animals for a number of reasons: some have been domesticated for food, work, companionship, or a combination of all three.Īfter dogs, livestock animals such as sheep, cows, and pigs are thought to have been some of the first animals to become domesticated by humans. Key Reasons for the Domestication of Animals While some research suggests that domestic animals can prosper in the wild, domestic animals are typically more susceptible to predators since they lack some of the advantages, instincts, or traits that help their wild counterparts survive in nature. Show the physical traits of domestication syndrome, such as smaller skulls, floppy ears, or coat color variations.ĭomestication is not the same as taming an animal, which is when humans condition wild animals to live in captivity.They’re extremely difficult or impossible to breed with wild counterparts.Dependent on humans for food and reproduction.Genetically distinct from their wild ancestors and more human-friendly as a genetic trait.Generally speaking, domestic animals follow most of these criteria: The domestication of animals is a particular process that’s done through selective breeding. When did humans domesticate other animals, and why? This timeline highlights the domestication period of 15 different animals, based on archeological findings.īecause exact timing is tricky to pinpoint and research on the topic is ongoing, these estimates may vary by thousands of years. In fact, genetic evidence suggests that dogs split from their wild wolf ancestors around 33,000 years ago. While dogs weren’t always our docile companions, research indicates that they were likely one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans.