Domestication Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Domestication is the taming of animals and the cultivation of plants for human use. Some plants and animals have been domesticated for food; others for their utility as work animals or products such as sources of leather, and others for their aesthetic or entertainment value. The process of domestication began with Paleolithic humans, who domesticated the dog for guarding, hunting, working, and for food. Other animals domesticated early on were pigs, sheep, goats, and cattle. Archeological evidence from grave goods, paleoglyphs, or other evidence shows that even beekeeping had been domesticated before the Bronze Age.

By 2,000 years ago, wild horses, donkeys, cattle, oxen, and camels had been tamed and were being used for human needs. Domestication included not only the taming of wild animals, but development of animal husbandry. The breeding of small wild horses eventually led to the selective breeding of larger horses that could be used to pull chariots, and further advances produced horses large enough to be ridden by heavily armored and armed men.

Animal husbandry meant that animals were selectively bred for even more specialized human uses. Horses were bred as warhorses, as farm draft horses, and as wagon horses. The invention of the horse collar enabled greater “horse power.” The breeding of horses or other livestock added immensely to the wealth of nomads, noblemen, and farmers. It also increased the range of foods available for human and animal consumption immensely over what could be gained in hunting and gathering cultures. Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the New World opened the way for many new species of plants and animals to be spread around the world, and for many species to be introduced into the Americas. These exchanges were not always wholesome. The introduction of rabbits and the prickly pear cactus to Australia was disastrous. Scholars have debated fiercely about the process of domestication. Some claim that domestication was due to fortuitous mutations in species that made them useful to humans. Others argue that selective breeding is the source of the enormous “favoritism of the species” that human domestication has achieved.

For example, corn (maize) in the New World and wheat in the Old World are two immensely important food stocks for humans. They both came from wild grasses, but were cultivated and dispersed globally in different ways. Wild wheat seeds fall off when the wheat is ripe; however, domesticated wheat heads remain on the wheat stem, allowing them to be harvested more efficiently. The question is whether or not the wheat’s current genetic characteristic that causes it to retain the wheat on the wheat stalk is a mutation, or a characteristic what was selectively bred into wheat over the centuries. Some scholars believe that it is both.

Some animals and plants have resisted domestication. For an animal to become domesticated for use by humans, it needs to have a temperament that can be settled and not prone to panic or fear.

Some have argued that in the domestication of dogs, the most ferocious dogs often ended up in the stew pot because they were too dangerous. Those that were friendly got some of the stew. Dogs have been used for work such as herding sheep, pulling traverses and sleds, for war, fighting in sporting matches, and for hunting. The characteristics desired have been selectively bred to produce breeds that are famous for certain skills. The Saint Bernard was bred for rescue in deep mountain snows. Another characteristic needed for domestication is a diet that can be easily met. General diets are more easily provided than are specialized diets. The koala bear and the panda bear have very specialized diets that would, along with other factors, make them difficult to domesticate. Camels can feed on very poor grasses or shrubs, and are to go without water for long periods, making them desirable for transportation in the desert. There is also the question of growth rate and of the ability to breed in captivity. Research is constantly conducted so that humans can better care for domestic and wild animals. A final characteristic of animals is how social they are. If a species of animal such as cattle have a natural herd, pack, or leader established by dominance; it is possible for a human to become the “alpha male” of the group.

The domestication of plants made agriculture possible. Without it, very few humans would survive. Farming began in the Fertile Crescent about 12,000 years ago, probably with wheat production in ancient Iraq. The dry summers of Mesopotamia and Egypt allowed for the production of cereal grains, vegetables, and fruits. In the Americas, especially Meso-America, the domestication of beans, squash, and maize were revolutionary, and made large civilizations possible. In the Orient, the cultivation of rice was central to the development of civilization. The development of agriculture reduced the areas of the world that were open to hunting and gathering, while the search for plants and animals to domesticate continues. Every species that is tame becomes a plant or animal that is serviceable to humans, but also increases human knowledge and appreciation of nature. For example, the development of aquariums has led to whole industries focused on the entertainment and knowledge of keeping fish. Scholars have sought to understand the domestication process since the beginning of human history with numerous plant and animals, including sea mammals.

Bibliography:

Stephen Budiansky, Covenant of the Wild: Why Animals Chose Domestication (Yale University Press, 1999);
Juliet Clutton-Brock, Natural History of Domesticated Mammals (Cambridge University Press, 1999);
Helmut Hemmer, , Domestication: The Decline of Environmental Appreciation (Cambridge University Press, 2005);
Edward O. Price, Animal Domestication and Behaviour (CAB International, 2003);
Melinda A. Zeder, et al., eds., Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archeological Paradigms (University of California Press, 2006).