animal domestication
Making beasts pets
Animal domestication is the process of breeding wild species over generations to live alongside humans, resulting in animals that are tamer, more useful, or more dependent on people than their wild ancestors.
Dogs, cattle, sheep, and horses are classic examples.
The process typically takes centuries and produces permanent genetic and behavioral changes: The domestication of the horse transformed warfare and trade.
Domestication differs from taming, which affects only individual animals rather than entire populations.
- Neolithic RevolutionAdoption of farming, settlement
- livestock farmingBreeding animals for food
- tamingMaking wild things gentle
- selective breedingControlled reproduction for traits
- dairy productionCreating milk-based foods
Fertile Crescent · docility · herd mentality · genetic drift · biodiversity loss · artificial selection · co-evolution · equestrianism · overgrazing · early agriculture · conservation breeding · beast of burden · working dogs · man's best friend · aquaculture · mythological creatures · hybrid vigor · fur farming
- prehistorystone tools, Neolithic, Stone Age, caveman, cavemen
- ancient transportsledges, rafts, dugout canoes, canoes, watercraft
- Archaeogeneticsancient DNA, Neanderthal DNA, bone samples, tooth enamel, hair samples
animal domesticationrewilding
Restoring natural ecosystems
wildlife conservation · animal liberation · wilderness preservation · letting nature take its course · species reintroduction
animal, animals, animate, animated, animation, animator, inanimate, animating, animus