of Plants and Animals

Sarah Pauling

spauling@lhup.edu

Psychology major

12/01/2003

First off, what is domestication?

Extending far beyond the realm of typical house pets, domestication implicates many different species of animals- and even plants. According to www.brainydictionary.com, to domesticate is "to tame or reclaim from a wild state; as, to domesticate wild animals; to domesticate a plant".

The purpose of this web page is to explore the many different species of domestic plants and animals, and track their progress from their wild state to what they have evolved into today. Not every domestic plant or animal will be covered on this page, but it is my hope to touch on some of the most important and beneficial ones.

When did domestication begin?

- Around 9000 B.C.

Can all animals be domesticated?

- No! It's possible to tame some wild-born animals, but this doesn't make them domesticated. A tiger, for example, is not domestic and should not be kept as a pet---remember what happened to Roy (of Siegfried and Roy)?

Why is this?

- In the case of Roy, his famous tigers may have been reared in captivity and seemed relatively tame, but they are still wild animals. This is because genetically, they are no different from the wild population of tigers. Domestic animals are genetically distinct from their wild predecessors. This occurs through human intervention- the animals are selectively bred in order to achieve a desirable trait. Look at sheep- they were selectively bred so that they would lose their bristly outer hairs (called kemp) while keeping their softer inner hairs (the wool). But at the same time, selective breeding is not an option for all animals, because not all animals have the capability of being domesticated. A prime example of this is the zebra. Humans tried to domesticate the zebra for centuries- not only African herders but also the European horse breeders who settled in South Africa in the 1600s- with no success. Why could this be? Well believe it or not, zebras are notoriously vicious (who knew?). They actually injure more zoo-keepers each year than do tigers- they have been reported to bite a handler and not let go until the handler is dead.

There are 6 main obstacles identified as preventing a wild animal from being domesticated:

1. Their diet is not easily supplied by humans (needless to say, anteaters are not domesticated).

2. They have a slow growth rate and long birth spacing (elephants and gorillas).

3. They have a nasty disposition (lions & tigers & bears- oh my!).

4. They are reluctant to breed in captivity (pandas and cheetahs).

5. They don't have a follow-the-leader dominance hierarchy (bighorn sheep and antelope).

6. They tend to panic in enclosures or when faced with predators (gazelle and deer).

Facing even one of these obstacles can prevent an animal from being domesticated.

Many experts agree that the dog was the first domesticated animal. There is some debate on when exactly this occurred, but most estimates fall around 15,000 years ago in East Asia. This was pinpointed as the origin of domestication after analyzing DNA samples taken from dogs in Asia, Europe, Africa, and artic America. It was found that, while most dogs shared a common gene pool, genetic diversity was highest in East Asia, suggesting that dogs had been domesticated there the longest.

Man's Best Friend

The first dog domesticated by man was a wolf, and it was the first animal that humans didn't have to tie up to keep close by. The first interactions probably occurred through the sharing of food- humans throwing out scraps and the wolves being there waiting for the handout. Through these interactions and observations of wolves, humans realized the tremendous advantages these animals could provide in hunting. Wolves also provided protection for humans, and from this gradually evolved into a companion. Today's dogs seem to have a deep understanding of humans- dogs pick up human hints about hidden food (pointing at, or even looking towards the food) better than even chimpanzees, who are our closest relatives.

Different Breeds

Soon after humans began to utilize the talents of the dog, they started to see how some were better suited for certain situations than others. They also began to notice that (for example), a mother with white spots who was good with kids also produced puppies with white spots- and selective breeding began there. Humans took dogs with the specific characteristics and bred them with another to achieve the desired outcome in the next generation, and so on. From this gradual process resulted a wide diversity in different breeds of dog. Certain breeds of dog were bred for their appearance and do not look similar to their ancestor, while some breeds retain wolf like features.

Stanley Coren, professor of psychology at the University of British Colombia, and also the author of a best-selling book on dogs, had this to say regarding dog-breeding, "It looks as though by building breeds, we did exactly what we set out to do in terms of breeding intelligence and temperament- we could build an Einsteinian dog through breeding, or one so dumb it could run for Parliament." Coren also conducted a study in which he asked every dog obedience judge in North America to fill out a complete rating for each dog breed. Out of 199 judges who responded, 190 listed the Border Collie in the top 10 (in terms of trainability), while 121 listed the Afghan Hound in the bottom 10. This means that, when searching for your next dog, consider more than just their appearance- do background research on the breed you are looking at to make sure that it is best suited to fit your needs, whether it be a playmate for the kids or a hunting companion. Below is a list of some of today's common breeds, along with how they are suited for their original purposes:

-Rotweilers/ German Shepherds: are alert and bark a lot, making them excellent watchdogs

-Pointers: silently lead their masters to hiding game and freeze in a pointing stance

-Retrievers: they like water, suiting them for jumping in and bringing back fallen birds for their hunting masters

-Afghans/ Irish Wolfhounds: hunt down unwanted animals by being fast enough to run them down

-Beagles/ Bloodhounds: hunt down unwanted animals by tracking them down with a finely tuned sense of smell

-Terriers: brave enough to chase rodents into holes, and have a wiry coat to protect against their victims' bites

-Samoyeds/ Siberian Huskies: warm coated and bred to haul sleds

-Newfoundlands/ Saint Bernards: big and strong for hauling loads

-Border Collies: have the wolves' instinct for keeping potential prey animals together

-Pomeranians/ Maltese: bred to be friendly companions

Humans have always seemed to have a love/hate relationship with cats. Even today, either you're a 'cat person' or you're not. It's amazing how the same animal was once idolized in one part of the world, while depicted as a symbol of evilness in another.

Cats in Egypt

Today's domestic cat extends from the African wildcat, which was a small,

yellowish cat with black stripes (see pic at right). At this time the Egyptians

were having a huge problem with rodents. The Egyptians' diet consisted

of mainly grains, which they kept in large storage rooms in reed containers.

Many rats and mice were drawn to these storage areas- they could easily get in

and chew through the containers. Since no traps had been developed yet, the

rodents were basically free to eat the grain as they pleased, while also breeding at a rapid rate.

All of this changed when the African wildcat started coming around. At this time, bit the wildcat and the jungle cat (felis chaus) lived in the region, but it was the wildcat who was less fearful in nature and willing to risk human contact to hunt for rodent prey. The Egyptians were ecstatic and welcomed the wildcat when they realized it was killing off the rodents. They even began leaving scraps of food outside their homes to encourage the wildcat to hunt there. With the increased contact, cats became more accustomed to humans, while humans' admiration for cats grew, and they began letting cats into their homes. This worked well for the cats, since it was advantageous for them to stay in the cities rather than the wild. In the cities, they had plenty to eat, and they didn't have to worry about being hunted since their predators in the wild were afraid of humans. It was after this initial domestication that the Egyptians began petting the cats and realized that the cats were affectionate as well. There is an Ancient Egyptian medicinal text which states that a purring cat could induce a more restful and tranquil sleep.

Egyptians loved cats, and worshipped them as being god-like. They imposed the death penalty on anyone who killed a cat, showing that they valued a cat's life as much as another human's. And if a house cat died, its been said that the owners shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. When they died, cats were even mummified and buried with saucers and food, as well as mummified rats and mice! Egypt also held a strict rule that cats could not leave the country, although they were smuggled to Europe and Asia.

Cats in Europe

The unfortunate cats who were first smuggled into Europe had very different lives than their counterparts in Egypt. In Europe, cats were considered evil- as representing the devil, and also spreading disease. They were also believed to be able to change into witches, and back into cats again, at will. How did these absurd accusations come about? Probably through a lot of hearsay and superstition, coupled with their evolved habit of spraying, and the fact that they liked to prowl at night. This is where a lot of today's superstitions about cats came from- for example, that it's bad luck for a black cat to cross your path. In 1484, it was even declared that all cat-worshippers in Europe be burned as witches. The cats themselves were also tortured as part of religious rituals to drive out the devil. Things didn't improve for cats until the 17th century, when the hype over witches died down, and cats were allowed to prove themselves as mousers. By the 18th century, things were back to normal, and the cat was a popular household pet.

Cats in Asia

Asians loved cats and started breeding them right away. They produced some of the popular pedigree breeds, such as the:

Siamese                                            Balinese                                       Himalayan

And it was the Japanese who are thought to have invented the first litter box.

Today, there are over 100 recognized breeds of domestic cat, with the main variants being body type, eye color, coat color, and length of coat. Even so, most cats are a result of cross-breeding (especially in populated areas), and are commonly categorized as simply domestic shorthair or domestic longhair.

There are a few different theories about where horses were domesticated (some focus on one location, others on several different locations), but the theory I found most frequently in my research is that today's breeds evolved from small, multi-toed wild horses that roamed the plains of Asia. Although I found this theory often, nothing has been concretely proven as to where they exactly originated. The domestication of horses provided humans with an invaluable asset to their day to day living, greatly improving mobility and ability to transport. The horse provided transportation- both in peacetime and in war, and was strong enough to pull loads and farm equipment. This meant that people could now travel longer distances in a shorter amount of time, and take more with them when they went. The hides and skins were also used for clothing, and occasionally the meat was even eaten, although this is looked down upon in many areas today, and was primarily done before domestication actually took place. Today, eating the meat often carries a stigma- in some areas because the horse is considered noble, and in others it is considered the poor man's meat (because horses are not generally raised for their meat, and the meat that is used comes from horses who died of other causes, not for their meat).

Horses are actually a good example of the benefits of domestication, because domestication may have saved them from extinction. Climactic changes in Europe, as the Ice Age ended, diminished the number of horses in that region. Travelers from Asia brought the species to the West, and possibly saved their existence.

The primitive horses were of small stature, and originally were used to pull chariots. As methods of agriculture improved, combined with selective breeding, horses became bigger, stronger, and faster.

Pigs are an easily adaptable animal, making them prime for domestication. They are able to eat practically anything, and their reproduction rate is very high. Especially advantageous for humans is the fact that the entire animal is edible, and produces high-quality leather, as well as durable bristles for many types of brushes. The Chinese domesticated pigs over 7,000 years ago. From the Middle East, pigs spread across Asia, Europe, and Africa.

As mentioned before, pigs have an extremely flexible diet, which made it easier for them to become domesticated. Domestic pigs are normally fed diets of corn, grain, root and tuber crops, dairy by-products, commercial feeds, and edible garbage. Pigs were first introduced in North America by the explorer Hernando de Soto who brought 13 pigs to the Florida mainland. On his second voyage, Columbus brought red pigs to America. These early pigs were from Spain and Portugal. Pigs were also brought into the United States from the Guinea coast of Africa on early slave trading vessels.

Domestic pigs fall into 3 General Types:

1. Lard-Type:

- tend to have a high proportion of body fat and are compactly built

2. Meat-Type:

-have ability to reach a marketable weight without accumulating excessive fat- they are the most popular type of domestic pig in the U.S. today. Examples of meat- type pigs are---

Berkshire

Chester White

3. Bacon-Type:

- common in areas where grains, dairy by-products, and root crops are used for feed (these feeds are less fattening and produce a better bacon than corn feed). A common example of a bacon- type pig is the---

Tamworth

Domestic pigs are raised worldwide, especially in temperate zones with dense human population. China has the largest population of domestic pigs, followed then by the U.S. (where most of our pig production is centered in the corn belt, shown below).

Chickens are a type of bird, domesticated for their meat and eggs. They can be genetically traced back to the Red Jungle Fowl (see pic at right), which is native to Thailand and still found there today- and (get ready for this), chickens are the closest living relative to the T-Rex!

Other interesting facts:

-chickens outnumber people on earth, and there are approximately 450 million chickens in the U.S. alone; they are the most numerous domesticated birds on the planet

-chickens have more bones in their necks than giraffes

-they have no teeth and swallow their food whole- part of their stomach is used to grind their food up

Cows are a prized and extremely useful species. While living, they can provide milk, cream, butter, and cheese. Once dead, their hides can be used for clothing, and they provide large amounts of meat.

Domestic cows evolved from Aurochs (see pic), which stood 6 feet tall. Humans gradually altered this mammoth statue into a smaller one through poor quality winter feed, restricted grazing land, and selective breeding. (if you have noticed, a lot of domestic animals become smaller than their wild ancestors---this makes them easier to control)

Cows came to America with Christopher Columbus, and today there are an estimated 920 different breeds of cows in the world. In the U.S., Wisconsin has the most dairy cows, while Texas has the most beef cows.

Sheep are believed to be domesticated from Urial (see pic). Sheep provide wool for clothing, milk, cheese, and even meat. One of their main advantages is their hardiness- it's possible to keep the animals on very poor land with little grazing potential. They are also able to survive outside at all times of the year.

Through selective breeding, domestic sheep are of greater quality than their ancestors- they have been bred to lose their bristly outer hairs (kemp), while keeping their soft inner hairs (wool). Sheep have had awhile to go through these changes- they are among the 1st animals domesticated. Today, there are more than 200 different breeds of sheep.

Although you might not think of a plant as being domesticated, many kinds are. A domesticated plant is one whose reproductive success depends on human intervention. It has been transformed by repeated selection so that its edible parts are bigger and tastier (ex: a wild tomato is only 1/2 the size of a cherry tomato, and wild lettuce is very bitter). Wheat, corn, rice, and barley also underwent important changes- they originally scattered their seeds in the wind, which was valuable to them but not to a farmer. Through domestication, their seeds have become non-shattering; meaning they no longer scatter in the wind. How did this change come about? Probably once people started harvesting with sickles- scatter-prone grains would then be lost, while plants with compactly bunched seeds would be the ones most likely to be collected and saved for the next planting cycle.

Although there are many domesticated plants, the ones that I am going to describe on my website are: wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, sugar-beets, potatoes, and barley.

Wheat originated from a wild grass called einkorn (see pic below). It was domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East.

Below is the history of wheat domestication, taken from a web site that you can find here.

History of Wheat domestication (14)
Year Event:
c 17000 BC ---People were collecting and eating wild Emmer Wheat in the Near East (as well as barley). Evidence for this comes from the finding of wild Emmer Wheat seeds in an archaeological site on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in Israel.
c10000 BC--- People were collecting and eating wild Einkorn Wheat in the Near East and were probably doing so well before this. Evidence from this stems from the finding of carbonised remains of wild Einkorn Wheat seeds in archaeological sites in northern Syria. Seeds of the wild forms can be distinguised from the domesticated forms because they are thinner in appearance.
c 7800 BC--- People had domesticated hulled Emmer Wheat through selection of plants with plumper seeds than wild forms which were non-brittle so they were retained during harvesting and only shed through the threshing process. Evidence for this comes from the occurrence of plump Emmer Wheat seeds at an archaeological site near Damascus in Israel. Emmer Wheat was the main cereal crop in the Near East from the very beginnings of agriculture in this region. It also came to be cultivated further in the Aegean region (e.g. Greece), on the Balkan Peninsula and in central Europe and remained the main cereal crop through the Neolithic period and into the Bronze Age although Einkorn Wheat was often grown as well.
c7000 BC ---Einkorn Wheat had been domesticated through selection and propagation of plants with plumper seeds than wild forms. Evidence for this domestication comes from finding these plumper seeds at archaeological sites in Syria, Turkey and Iran. With time Einkorn Wheat becomes a major crop in the near East in the Neolithic period. It spread further than this in the Neolithic period to Cyprus, Greece, the Balkan Peninsula, Europe and the Caucasus. For instance, domesticated Einkorn has been found in in Greek agricultural settlements dating back to 6000-6500 BC.
6000-7000 BC ---Selection of free-threshing, naked, forms of Emmer Wheat has been successful although hulled Emmer and Einkorn continue to be grown. However, by the Late Bronze Age, growing of naked wheat predominated in the Mediterranean and Near East regions. Durum Wheat is derived from these naked wheat types.
4700 BC--- Earliest record of people using Bread Wheat (the hulled Spelta variety). This occurred in the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas which makes sense because this is within the main geographical distribution of Aegilops squarrosa which is the grass that at some stage formed a fertile hybrid with cultivated Emmer Wheat to form Bread Wheat. Free-threshing, naked, Bread Wheat is thought to have developed soon afterwards (before 4000 BC).

The domestication of rice (Oryza sativa) took place in Southeast Asia about 5,000 years ago, while the domestication West African rice (O. glaberrima) and American wild rice (Zizania aquatica) took place independently. Rice grows in fields or in paddys, and although there is a much higher yield in paddys, intensive labor is required to maintain and irrigate them.

Rice is the food of choice in much of Southeast and Eastern Asia- it has been said that Eastern Asian civilizations developed due to strong social organization required to grow rice in paddys, and high yields of paddy rice allowed high population densities.

Corn (Zea mays) was domesticated between 5000 B.C.- 6000 B.C. in MesoAmerica (Mexico). Its exact origins are unknown, although Tripsacum (primitive pod corn- see pic at right) is a potential ancestor. Corn is very useful- it is grown for both human and animal food, as well as oil, ethanol, and many other industrial purposes. Corn agriculture is credited to leading to the development of MesoAmerican civilizations.

*MesoAmerica extended from northern Mexico to Central America and had diverse environmental zones ideal for growing many crops

Some of the many corn products that humans use for food are: sweet corn, popcorn (contains higher moisture in dried kernel; upon heating, water turns to steam, explodes kernel), cornmeal, and in tortillas, cornbread, snack food, etc.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is thought to have been domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent (which extended from the Persian gulf, up and around Mesopotamia and back down to Israel and Egypt).

Barley is usually regarded as inferior food compared with wheat, but it has the advantage of being able to withstand drier conditions, less fertile and more saline soils. As mentioned before, through domestication, barley has evolved to be non-shattering; to not lose its seeds in the wind but rather retain them until harvest. Barley also typically has hulled seeds (the husk of the seed is tough and does not come off during the threshing process). This is preferred for brewing beer and for animal feed, but a new kind has been developed without the hulled seeds that is favorable for direct consumption.

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) was domesticated in the Andes between 7000 and 10000 years ago (a lot of people think the potato came from Ireland, but not the case). Potatoes were developed to tolerate the semi-arid conditions of coastal valleys, subtropical forest, and even cooler plateaus in the Andes.

Irish Potato Famine

In September, 1845 a strange disease struck potatoes- they were introduced to a fungal disease that they had no natural genetic resistance for (Phytophthora infestans). Since the Irish people were largely dependent on the potato, this had disastrous effects. In 1850 finally the harvest went back to normal, and luckily the blight never struck on such a large scale again.

The soybean was domesticated in China, around 2000 B.C. The earliest record of soybeans is in a series of books by the emperor Sheng Nung in 2838 BC, in which he described the various plants of China. Although soybeans had a slow start and didn't have much of an impact outside of Asia until the early 20th century, they are now a high- value protein and oil crop in the U.S.  Actually, when they were first brought to the U.S. in 1765, they were used as dead weight to stabilize ships.

The United States took China's place as the leading exporter of soybeans in the 1940s, when China's soybean fields were destroyed by WWII and internal revolutions.

The sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris) was originally domesticated as the common vegetable beet. They have began to be grown for their sugar relatively recent, within the past 250 years.

Works Cited:

1). Wallach, Bret.(2001).The domestication of plants and animals. Retrieved September 2, 2003, from http://geography.ou.edu/courses/1103bw/domestication.htm.

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5). Hughes, J. (1999).About Domesticating Raccoons. Retrieved September 2, 2003 from http://www.isleauhaut.net/maskd/domestication.htm

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7). Sauer, Carl Ortwin.(1969). Agricultural origins and dispersals; the domestication of animals and foodstuffs.(2nd ed.). Cambridge:M.I.T. Press.

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13). Zimmer, Carl. (1994). Cows Were in the Air. Retrieved November 28, 2003 from http://www.discover.com/issues/sep-94/departments/cowswereintheair429/.

14). Robertson, Hamish. (2003). Triticum(wheat genus). Retrieved November 17, 2003 from http://www.museums.org.za/bio/plants/poaceae/triticum.htm.

15). (No Author). (n.d.). Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta. Retrieved November 29, 2003 from http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cfford/101bread.htm.

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