Domestication is the procedure of adapting wild plants and animals for human apply. Domestic species are raised for food, work, clothing, medicine, and many other uses. Domesticated plants and animals must be raised and cared for by humans. Domesticated species are not wild.

Plant Domestication

People showtime domesticated plants about x,000 years ago, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (which includes the modernistic countries of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria). People collected and planted the seeds of wild plants. They fabricated sure the plants had every bit much water equally they needed to abound, and planted them in areas with the right amount of sun. Weeks or months later, when the plants blossomed, people harvested the food crops.

The first domesticated plants in Mesopotamia were wheat, barley, lentils, and types of peas. People in other parts of the world, including eastern asia, parts of Africa, and parts of North and South America, besides domesticated plants. Other plants that were cultivated by early civilizations included rice (in Asia) and potatoes (in South America).

Plants have not but been domesticated for food. Cotton wool plants were domesticated for fiber, which is used in cloth. Some flowers, such equally tulips, were domesticated for ornamental, or decorative, reasons.

Animal Domestication

Nearly the same time they domesticated plants, people in Mesopotamia began to tame animals for meat, milk, and hides. Hides, or the skins of animals, were used for clothing, storage, and to build tent shelters.

Goats were probably the beginning animals to be domesticated, followed closely by sheep. In Southeast Asia, chickens also were domesticated about 10,000 years agone. Later, people began domesticating larger animals, such as oxen or horses, for plowing and transportation. These are known as beasts of burden.

Domesticating animals tin can be difficult work. The easiest animals to domesticate are herbivores that graze on vegetation, because they are easiest to feed: They do non need humans to kill other animals to feed them, or to grow special crops. Cows, for example, are hands domesticated. Herbivores that eat grains are more than hard to domesticate than herbivores that graze considering grains are valuable and also need to be domesticated. Chickens are herbivores that consume seeds and grain.

Some animals domesticated for one purpose no longer serve that purpose. Some dogs were domesticated to assist people in hunting, for instance. In that location are hundreds of domestic dog species today. Many of them are still excellent hunters, merely most are pets.

Throughout history, people accept bred domesticated animals to promote certain traits. Domestic animals are chosen for their ability to breed in captivity and for their calm temperament. Their ability to resist illness and survive in difficult climates is also valuable.

Over time, these traits make domestic animals dissimilar from their wild ancestors. Dogs were probably domesticated from gray wolves. Today, dogs are a distinct species from gray wolves.

Domesticated animals tin wait very different from their wild ancestors. For example, early wild chickens weighed well-nigh two pounds. Merely over thousands of years of domestication, they have been bred to be larger. Larger chickens yield more than meat. Today, domestic chickens counterbalance as much as 17 pounds. Wild chickens but hatched a minor number of eggs one time a twelvemonth, while domestic chickens commonly lay 200 or more eggs each yr.

Effects on Humans

Domesticating plants marked a major turning point for humans: the beginning of an agronomical way of life and more than permanent civilizations. Humans no longer had to wander to hunt animals and get together plants for their food supplies.

Agriculture—the cultivating of domestic plants—allowed fewer people to provide more nutrient. The stability that came with regular, predictable nutrient production led to increased population density. People were able to do more than than hunt for each 24-hour interval's food—they could travel, trade, and communicate. The world's first villages and cities were built about fields of domesticated plants.

Plant domestication as well led to advances in tool production. The earliest farming tools were paw tools made from rock. People later developed metal farming tools, and somewhen used plows pulled by domesticated animals to piece of work fields.

domestication

But domesticated animals article of clothing hats.

Dogs and Wolves
Though today's dogs were likely domesticated from grey wolves, they are now a distinct species. Dogs' scientific name is canis lupus familiaris, while the scientific name for grayness wolves is canis lupus.

Wild Horses
The process of domestication continues. Cowboys and other horse experts train horses. Sometimes, this is chosen "breaking" a horse. Training a horse to allow a saddle and passenger requires an enormous corporeality of physical piece of work, grooming, and patience. Horses that are born on ranches or in stables withal need to be trained, although training a young horse is easier than domesticating a horse defenseless in the wild.

adapt

Verb

to adjust to new surroundings or a new state of affairs.

Noun

the art and science of cultivating land for growing crops (farming) or raising livestock (ranching).

ancestor

Substantive

organism from whom 1 is descended.

animal

Noun

organisms that have a well-defined shape and express growth, can move voluntarily, learn food and digest it internally, and can respond rapidly to stimuli.

barley

Substantive

grass cultivated as a grain.

beast of brunt

Noun

animal used for conveying or pulling heavy loads.

break

Verb

to tame a horse, or make it comfortable with a saddle and rider.

breed

Verb

to produce offspring.

chicken

Noun

domestic bird cultivated for meat, eggs, and feathers.

city

Noun

large settlement with a loftier population density.

Noun

complex way of life that developed as humans began to develop urban settlements.

climate

Noun

all atmospheric condition conditions for a given location over a menses of time.

communicate

Verb

to exchange knowledge, thoughts, or feelings.

cotton

Noun

fabric made from fibers of the cotton wool plant.

moo-cow

Noun

large, domesticated mammal used for milk and meat.

cowboy

Noun

person who herds cattle on a ranch, commonly on a horse.

Noun

agricultural produce.

canis familiaris

Noun

domestic animal related to the wolf.

Substantive

the process of adapting wild plants or animals for human use.

enormous

Adjective

very big.

fiber

Substantive

long, thin, threadlike material produced by plants that aids digestive move when consumed.

goat

Substantive

hoofed mammal domesticated for its milk, glaze, and mankind.

Substantive

harvested seed of such grasses as wheat, oats, and rice.

graze

Verb

to feed on grass, usually over a wide pasture.

grayness wolf

Noun

mammal related to the domestic dog.

harvest

Substantive

the gathering and collection of crops, including both plants and animals.

Noun

organism that eats mainly plants and other producers.

hide

Noun

leather skin of an animal.

horse

Noun

type of domesticated mammal used for riding and hauling.

hunt

Verb

to pursue and kill an animal, usually for food.

lentil

Noun

establish with pocket-sized, flat seeds, native to Asia.

Mesopotamia

Noun

ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, today lying mostly in Iraq.

metal

Noun

category of elements that are normally solid and shiny at room temperature.

ornamental

Adjective

decorative or presented for beauty.

patience

Noun

ability to deal with pain, misfortune, or annoyance without complaint.

pea

Noun

plant with a pod begetting small, circular seeds.

permanent

Describing word

constant or lasting forever.

plant

Noun

organism that produces its ain nutrient through photosynthesis and whose cells have walls.

plow

noun, verb

tool used for cutting, lifting, and turning the soil in training for planting.

Noun

the number of people living in a set up area, such as a square mile.

potato

Substantive

plant native to the Americas.

anticipated

Adjective

regular or able to be forecasted.

process

Noun

natural or human actions that create and modify the Earths features.

ranch

Substantive

large farm on which livestock are raised.

resist

Verb

to oppose or confront.

rice

Noun

grass cultivated for its seeds.

saddle

Noun

seat for a rider on a horse.

seed

Noun

part of a plant from which a new institute grows.

sheep

Noun

type of mammal with thick, potent wool used for cloth.

shelter

Substantive

structure that protects people or other organisms from conditions and other dangers.

stable

Describing word

steady and reliable.

stable

Noun

building where horses or other animals are kept.

storage

Noun

space for keeping materials for use at a later time.

tame

Verb

to domesticate or make useful for humans.

temperament

Substantive

traits or personality of an private.

tool

Noun

instrument used to aid in the performance of a chore.

trade

Noun

buying, selling, or exchanging of goods and services.

trait

Substantive

characteristic or attribute.

transportation

Noun

movement of people or appurtenances from one place to some other.

travel

Noun

movement from ane place to another.

tulip

Noun

colorful, cup-shaped bloom native to Asia.

Noun

small-scale homo settlement usually found in a rural setting.

wheat

Noun

about widely grown cereal in the earth.

wild

Adjective

living in nature, non tame.

  • Credits

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    Writers

    Kim Rutledge
    Tara Ramroop
    Diane Boudreau
    Melissa McDaniel
    Santani Teng
    Erin Sprout
    Hilary Costa
    Hilary Hall
    Jeff Hunt

    Illustrators

    Mary Crooks, National Geographic Social club
    Tim Gunther

    Editors

    Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing
    Kara Westward

    Educator Reviewer

    Nancy Wynne

    Producer

    Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Guild

    Sources

    Dunn, Margery K. (Editor). (1989, 1993). "Exploring Your World: The Adventure of Geography." Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

    Last Updated

    Jan. 21, 2011

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