Abstract:
Animal domestication represents a milestone in the history of humans, and of the planet we inhabit. Exploring the long history of the diverse and continuing pathways that humans and animal traveled into domestication, learning how and when they first embarked on these journeys, tracing the twists and turns they took along the way is vital to understanding where we come from, how we arrived where we are today, and where these pathways will lead us into the future. This lecture looks at the universal features of animal domestication and its impact on animal domesticates. It brings together archaeology, genetics, and animal sciences to trace the pathways that animals and their human partners have followed and continue to follow into domestication. It explores some of the issues that must be confronted – ethical, ecological, social – as we continue to push the frontiers of animal domestication and reshape the lives of all animals living within an increasingly pervasive human sphere.