Domestication Flashcards
3 hypotheses on the evolution of Homo sapiens?
Evolution of H.Sapiens in Africa followed by world domination.
Multi-regional evolution of H.Sapiens from H.erectus.
Evolution of H.Sapiens in Africa followed by some hybridisation with Neanderthals, Denisovans and others.
When did the Antropocene start?
10,000 years ago.
90% of total mammalian biomass is made up of humans and domesticated animals up from 0.1% 10,000 years ago.
Before agriculture, the global population was 5 million, now it is >7000 million. 1000 fold increase from foraging to farming in person fed per area.
Why did agriculture start?
Many centres of domestication.
Farming must have also failed in some areas.
Plant and Animal domestication is uneven in time and space.
Agriculture could have started as just removing the undesirables, rather than proactively sowing the desirables.
Reduce competition and the desirables could develop larger seeds and other traits that wouldn’t survive in the wild.
Farmers and foragers lived alongside each other for many years.
- Biological
- Climate related
- Knowledge based
- Social
- Technological
Biological reasons for domestication?
There were plants and animals which could be domesticated.
Dietary energetics including high-energy fat intake from animals.
Random genetic mutations such as lactase persistence and non-toxic almonds.
Nutritional stress and resource pressure resulting from population growth
Climate reasons for domestication?
Climate change making photo-crops more productive (temperature and carbon dioxide levels).
Climate stability and desertification forcing migration and new life styles.
Knowledge based reasons for domestication?
Diffusion of knowledge, increased familiarity with plants and animals due to sedentism.
Innate human intelligence
Social reasons for domestication?
Sedentism leading to more complex society hierarchies.
Wealthy leaders choosing to farm for status items.
Alcohol production linked to feasting and rituals.
Land ownership leading to security (violence?).
Rich environments supporting leisure and experimentation.
Social rituals may have included praying, dancing, chanting and even killing.
Maybe farming was also one of these rituals.
Technological reasons for domestication?
Kitchen gardening and horticulture.
Storage including pottery manufacture.
Technological innovation including manufacture of tools, as well as water access and irrigation technology.
Homo sapiens exaptations for farming?
- language
- skeletal
- tool use and manufacture
- control and use of fire
- processing and cooking food
- migration
- cognitive processing and awareness of the future
Tool technologies for domestication?
Tool technologies are indicators of human activities and migration.
Pottery came before agriculture - maybe used for cooking which was very useful. Due to domestication of fire.
Cooking food makes it safer and taste nicer, body spends less time digesting, so can afford a highly demanding brain.
Fire makes agricultural crops much more useful and hunting & makes gathering more efficient.
Human genes useful for domestication?
Non-African genes were brought to Africa in two waves of migration, 3000 and 900-1800 years ago.
Among the genes were for muscle function, the immune system and protection from UV light.
Also brought knowledge of farming and pottery.
Abiotic exaptations for farming?
- reliable climate year after year
- adequate rainfall
- temperature within range for optimum Rubisco activity
- CO2 levels adequate.
Evidence of early domestication?
10,500 years ago in Nevali Cori in Turkey, jagged scars found on seeds - domestication.
