The origins of domestication are one of the most popular questions for human and natural history. When, where and how the domestication occurred and why people need this kind of static subsistence economy? There is a qualified publishing written by Gregor Larson and Dorian Q.Fuller and it discussing many aspects of animal domestication and origins of this phenomenon.
As we know, hunting and gathering is the longest period of human lifecycle among the survival strategies. The making of the first tool as a converter skill is defining the beginning of "culture" made by human and culture is challenging to nature at still present. Although first tool making and using occurred 3 million years ago at Africa, the subsistence strategies (hunter-gatherer communities and stopover around all of the old world) was not changed during this longterm until Holocene period.
The coldest conditions of late ice era not allowed to survive in everywhere and this situation caused getting together in isole niches at different geographies. Less resource and less moving space let the learn to live together. The Holocene period can define as learning new survival strategies and new socio-economical process not only human but also some kind of animals success at adaptation.
Traditional Approaches of Domestications
Darwin was one the first researchers who studied domestication of species by evolutionary aspects. He supposed that wild and domesticated species had to have different osteological constructions and it should be identifiable. In fact, this suggestion supported by later researchers, there are not only differences between domestic and wild individual of same species but also similarities. The changing of physical structures of skeletal elements lets us follow the domestication processes. But this kind of analysis includes just physical approaches. The behavioral aspects of domestication and the interactions of interspecies was a secret for researchers until new analysis methods and results occurred.
Oldest offers of animal domestications were pointed out adopting /catching of animal babies and a success following the generations of them. This kind of suggestions of adoption or catching was influenced by ethnographical investigations, especially for wolves. Today we know that all of the dog species are the generations of wolves and they have common genes. But there was a miss point and mistake at domestication theories and it reflects our modern consideration. The idea of adopting and catching of animals for domesticate as a result of human-centered approach and the domestication was not directed by only human decisions.
New Methods, New Results...
New methodological approaches and technological developments allowed us to revise our traditional knowledge and results. Especially DNA and isotope analysis of animal remains provides more detailed explanations and trustable conclusions as scientifically. İnvestigations of domestication researches supplies new facts recent years. One of the interesting results of new methods shows that the domestication process not led by humans. The Holocene niches where caused live together with humans and animals and created new mutual interactions between them.
As we know, wastes of human foods are supplying nutrition resource for animals and it takes them to nearby us. New results show that it was same at prehistoric periods and this situation caused and coming from animals to humans camps and settlements in later terms.Especially wastes of killed animals like bones and meat pieces were supplied potential food sources for carnivores like wolves. Carnivores released this easy food source and it was a significant advantage for them at cold and dry conditions of climate. The main care of people during at this period was provided a continuity for food resources and they hunted mostly male individuals of animals. Deers, cattle, pigs, and sheep were not domesticated yet but this kind of hunting strategy let animals regeneration for surviving. People didn't keep them but they were near people. The generation by generation, carnivores got some modifications and the human-wolf relation has won new aspects. Wolves were continued stay with the human and human-affected their gene transfer by selections. Wolves which have docile behaviors continued live with human, the aggressive ones stayed at nature and protect their characters. At later processes, docile wolves transformed to dogs and left their wild origins by biological and behavioral features.
Circa 10.000 - 12.000 years ago, people were settled and changed their habit. This process is defining as "Neolithisation" and it looks the process of Neolithisation have very kind of cognitive and behavioral aspects. Regardless farming economy provided the surplus in storage units and this plenty of food attracted small insects and rodents. The cats came for rodents especially mice and like wolves, they entered the cycle of domestication. Like wolves, the waste of human was helped to wild pigs and they too became a part of commensal life.
The wild mammals were redirected by human survival strategies and regenerated near by them. People tried to keep them around for hunting and caused the morphological changes in their anatomy. People just want to survive but they caused radical changes. Domestication of animal species emerged as an unintentional result of human hunting and nutrition strategies in different geographies around the world affected lots of species. At the end of this process, people realized the variety of potential advantages of animals and use them secondary productive features like milk, wool and physical power in a long term.
Human wants to survive and animal wants to live together. The domestication of animals is a mutual story and it seems, animals played as the main actor in this scenario. The unintentional results of domestication were changed human life and all of the ecological cycle...
References and Sources
The first picture: http://www.faculty.umb.edu - "Paleolithic Cave Art" page
Second picture: http://www.esdaw.eu - "Dog Domestication" page
Main publishing which discussed here: Garson, L, & Fuller, D.Q., 2014 "The Evolution of Animal Domestication", Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 45: 115 -36.