1.3 Domestication and animal breeding

In this chapter we will start with the question: how and when did the domestication of animals start?

Domestic animals need to live in (close) association with humans, therefore they have to become tame. They also have to meet the expectations of their owners for the purpose of keeping them. This can be achieved by selective breeding. Expectations of owners will change in time, followed by a change in their selective breeding plan. Domestication often has resulted in a type of animals that has become quite different from their wild ancestors. As a result domestication often also involves the development of a full dependency on humans and the animals lose their ability to live in the wild.

1.3.1 Domestication of the dog

The first animal species to be domesticated was the dog. Estimates of when this happened vary a lot, but it was approximately between 16,000 – 30,000 years ago. An appealing theory is that when people started to settle down and became farmers, they also started to accumulate waste. The tamer than average wolves were brave enough to eat from that waste and thus had a secure source of food. This was an advantage, so natural selection pressure was on being not very afraid of humans. Eventually, a kind of symbiotic relationship developed, where these ancestors of the dog started to perform ‘tasks’ like warning the humans for approaching danger or helping in hunting. In return these animals would receive food security. This type of symbiotic relationship is still present in village dog populations in Africa and Asia, and also in some Southern European countries. It is believed that our current domestic dog breeds originate from these village dogs. There is evidence that genetically the village dogs are in between the wolves and the dogs.

1.3.2 Domestication of other species

The symbiotic relationship, such as between human and the ancestors of the dog, most likely is quite unique for dogs. Other types of animals may have been domesticated more forcefully. They were captured and put in an enclosure or tied up, at least during the night, and were only allowed out to graze or scavenge under supervision of a herdsman. Only those animals that were not aggressive, but also not too shy, managed to adapt to these new circumstances. So (mainly natural) selective breeding also in these cases was on temperament. In the table you will find a list of domestic animals with their ancestors and the approximate time and location of domestication. This is approximate, because especially for ancient times it is difficult to make an accurate estimate.

Table 1. List of domesticated animals in early times