Domestication

Domestication is a slow process where humans or other animals care for and control another species. This helps both sides. It happens over many generations through trial and error. Domesticated animals usually become less aggressive, and plants often grow bigger seeds.

The first animal humans domesticated was the dog at least 15,000 years ago. Other animals like goats, sheep, and cows were brought under human care around 11,000 years ago. Birds such as the chicken were first domesticated in East Asia at least 3,250 years ago, and the horse was domesticated around 5,500 years ago in central Asia for work.

Plants were also domesticated beginning around 13,000–11,000 years ago. Crops like wheat and barley were first grown in the Middle East, while Indigenous peoples in the Americas started farming crops such as maize and potatoes. Rice was first domesticated in China about 9,000 years ago.

Some insects, like leafcutter ants and fungus-growing termites, have also domesticated fungi, using them as food. These relationships show how many kinds of life have found ways to help each other.

Definitions

Domestication is when humans care for animals or plants to get things like food or help. This helps both humans and the living things. It is not the same as just taming one animal. It takes many generations and changes how the animals behave.

Over time, domesticated animals may become less scared, change colors, or have smaller teeth. Even some insects, like leafcutter ants, take care of fungi in a similar way. Domestication is a slow process that happens over many years and in many places.

Cause and timing

Further information: Neolithic transition

The domestication of animals and plants by humans started because of big changes in the climate and environment after the Last Glacial Maximum. These changes made it hard to find food by just hunting and gathering.

The first animal to be domesticated was the dog, a long time ago. A very cold and dry time called the Younger Dryas happened later, which made it even harder to find food.

When the climate got warmer, about 11,700 years ago, in the Holocene, humans started to domesticate small numbers of animals and plants. This helped them get more food. The first farms with crops like wheat and barley appeared, and people began to raise animals like goats, pigs, and sheep. Over many years, many more animals and plants were domesticated around the world.

Animals

The domestication of animals is when humans care for and control animals. Charles Darwin studied how domestic animals are different from wild animals in his book. He found that some traits make animals easier to live with, like being less aggressive.

Domesticated animals often have traits like being smaller, having floppy ears, or having smaller brains. These traits make them easier for humans to care for. Animals that are good to domesticate often get along well with others, bond easily with humans, and adapt to new places.

Mammals were domesticated in different ways. Some animals, like dogs and cats, stayed near humans because they found food around human homes. Others, like sheep and cattle, were kept for food. Some animals, like horses, were used for work and travel.

Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated, and they were chosen for their behaviors. Birds, such as chickens and ducks, were domesticated for meat and eggs. Insects like silkworms and honey bees were domesticated for their products, like silk and honey.

Main articles: Poultry and Aviculture

Domesticated birds are mainly raised for food, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. Other birds, like songbirds and parrots, are kept for fun. Pigeons have been used for communication because they can find their way home.

The wild ancestor of chickens is the red junglefowl from Southeast Asia. Research shows that chickens were likely first domesticated in this area.

Two insects, the silkworm and the western honey bee, have been domesticated for thousands of years. Silkworms are raised for silk, and honey bees are raised for honey and to help pollinate crops.

Other invertebrates have also been domesticated for research, food, or products. This includes fruit flies for scientific studies and snails for food.

Further information: List of domesticated animals

Plants

Further information: History of agriculture and List of domesticated plants

Humans started gathering wild plants like wheat and barley thousands of years ago before they began to grow them on purpose. Around 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, people in West Asia began to plant and take care of these plants. They grew crops like wheat, barley, lentils, and flax. Other plants were later grown in different parts of the world, such as rice in East Asia and maize in the Americas.

Domestication of plants happened slowly over many years and in many places. It involved trying different things and learning what worked best. Unlike animals, where changes were mostly in behavior, plants changed in how they grow and produce seeds. For example, wild wheat drops its seeds when it’s ready, but domesticated wheat keeps its seeds on the stem, making it easier for people to harvest.

Domesticated plants look and act differently from their wild cousins. They might have bigger seeds, taste better, or be easier to harvest. They often lose some natural defenses, like thorns or bitter tastes, which makes them rely on people to protect them.

When plants are domesticated, their genes change in important ways. For example, rice plants that taste different have a small change in their DNA that affects how they grow. Similar changes happened in other crops like potatoes and coconuts. These genetic changes help make plants better for people to grow and eat.

Fungi

Further information: List of domesticated fungi and microorganisms

Some fungi are taken care of by humans to help make food and useful products. For example, the mushroom Agaricus bisporus is grown to be eaten. Yeast, a type of fungus named Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been used for thousands of years to help make beer, wine, and to make bread rise. Other fungi, like Penicillium, are used to help make cheeses taste better and to create medicines such as antibiotics.

Effects

When animals are chosen for certain traits, it can change their genes in surprising ways. Animals that live close to humans can sometimes spread diseases to people. Cows have caused illnesses like measles and tuberculosis, while pigs and ducks can spread influenza. This happens because when animals and people live together closely, diseases can jump between them.

Domestication has also changed how humans live together. Some thinkers believe that before domestication, people lived more peacefully with nature. They say that taking care of animals led to new social groups and changes in how people treated each other and the world around them. Others argue that caring for animals has helped us grow food and stay safe, but it has also changed natural habitats and sometimes hurt wild animals.

Domestication can also affect the genes of animals and plants. When we choose only certain animals or plants to breed, their genetic diversity can decrease. This means there are fewer differences in their genes, which can sometimes lead to health problems. However, in some plants like barley and maize, genetic diversity didn’t drop quickly at first but changed slowly over time.

Domestication by insects

Some insects, like ambrosia beetles, leafcutter ants, and fungus-growing termites, have special relationships with fungi. These insects grow fungi for food. Ambrosia beetles dig tunnels in trees and grow fungi there. Leafcutter ants cut leaves and take them to their nests to feed their fungi. Some termites grow fungi on special structures made from their own waste, and then they eat the fungi.

Gallery of the ambrosia beetle _[Xylosandrus crassiusculus](/wiki/Xylosandrus_crassiusculus)_ split open, with pupae and black fungus.  


Leafcutter ants _[Atta cephalotes](/wiki/Atta_cephalotes)_ carrying discs of leaf material back to their nest to feed to their domesticated fungus


Inside the nest of the fungus-cultivating termite _Ancistrotermes_


_[Termitomyces heimii](/wiki/Termitomyces_heimii)_ growing on 'comb' inside a termite mound


_Termitomyces_ fungi are mutually dependent on [Macrotermitinae](/wiki/Macrotermitinae) termites for their survival.