Domestication of Animals

Domestication of Animals

Melinda A. Zeder, in her article, offers a multidisciplinary approach in an attempt to explain the process of animal domestication and the after effect on humans and animal domesticates. To do so, she uses recent research from the fields of animal sciences, archeology, and genetics.  Zeder begins by highlighting that domesticated animals have followed different paths into domestication. These paths are varied due to various biological constraints, the value of the animals brought under domestication, and the diverse cultural contexts of their human owners or partners.  Further, she acknowledges that the ever-advancing technology has led to more sophisticated feeding and breeding methods, which could allow for the domestication of an expanding array of species.

The author describes the general features of animal domestication. These standard features are behavioral preadaptations, brain and behaviors, pleitropic effects, and feralization.  The primary behavioral preadaptation considered is the species’ reactivity to humans and adaptions to new habitats. Low responsiveness to humans and other stimuli is central to animal domestication. On brains and behaviors, research has shown that domesticated animals have undergone brain reduction. Additionally, they have developed a higher threshold for stress compared to their wild relatives. However, Zeder notes that the low-stress limit for wild animals is a positive adaption to quickly respond to sudden environmental changes, a characteristic of the wild.

Unlike the standard general features shared by all the domesticated animals, there are various ways animals respond to domestication and varied paths into integration with human society. Furthermore, Zeder adds that it could be accurate to say that each animal under domestication, had its unique way.  However, she classifies animal domestication into three general categories: the commensal pathway, prey pathway, and directed pathway. The dog is a textbook example of domestication via the commensal route. Almost all cattle and livestock came under domestication through the prey pathway, somehow the opposite of the commensal pathway. The directed path, on the other hand, is a more deliberate and supervised process of domestication. Donkeys and horses are classic examples of animals who found their way into human societies through a directed pathway.

According to Zeder, approaching the concept of domestication in terms of pathways raises some concerns for future studies. Some of the emerging issues noted are i) the difference between animals who entered domestication through a commensal path and the others ii)neonatization of cranial and what it means in association to humans, iii)animals brought through directed pathways and their minimal morphological changes, and iv) the uniqueness of directed pathway and the intense search for specific traits.  Additionally, a different spectrum of emerging issues could stem from the analysis of feralization capabilities with respect to paths traveled into domestication. Adequately addressing these concerns requires combined efforts among researchers in the fields of animal science, genetics, and archeology.

References

Zeder, M. A. (2012). The domestication of animals. Journal of Anthropological Research, 68(2), 161-190.

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