Domesticated Evolution In A Man Made World

Author : Richard C. Francis
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393246515
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World written by Richard C. Francis and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2015-05-25 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An essential read for anyone interested in the stories of the animals in our home or on our plate.”—BBC Focus Without our domesticated plants and animals, human civilization as we know it would not exist. We would still be living at subsistence level as hunter-gatherers if not for domestication. It is no accident that the cradle of civilization—the Middle East—is where sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, and cats commenced their fatefully intimate association with humans. Before the agricultural revolution, there were perhaps 10 million humans on earth. Now there are more than 7 billion of us. Our domesticated species have also thrived, in stark contrast to their wild ancestors. In a human-constructed environment—or man-made world—it pays to be domesticated. Domestication is an evolutionary process first and foremost. What most distinguishes domesticated animals from their wild ancestors are genetic alterations resulting in tameness, the capacity to tolerate close human proximity. But selection for tameness often results in a host of seemingly unrelated by-products, including floppy ears, skeletal alterations, reduced aggression, increased sociality, and reduced brain size. It's a package deal known as the domestication syndrome. Elements of the domestication syndrome can be found in every domesticated species—not only cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, cattle, and horses but also more recent human creations, such as domesticated camels, reindeer, and laboratory rats. That domestication results in this suite of changes in such a wide variety of mammals is a fascinating evolutionary story, one that sheds much light on the evolutionary process in general. We humans, too, show signs of the domestication syndrome, which some believe was key to our evolutionary success. By this view, human evolution parallels the evolution of dogs from wolves, in particular. A natural storyteller, Richard C. Francis weaves history, archaeology, and anthropology to create a fascinating narrative while seamlessly integrating the most cutting-edge ideas in twenty-first-century biology, from genomics to evo-devo.

Author : Marcelo Sánchez-Villagra
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 069121767X
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.73/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Process of Animal Domestication written by Marcelo Sánchez-Villagra and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-18 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first modern scholarly synthesis of animal domestication Across the globe and at different times in the past millennia, the evolutionary history of domesticated animals has been greatly affected by the myriad, complex, and diverse interactions humans have had with the animals closest to them. The Process of Animal Domestication presents a broad synthesis of this subject, from the rich biology behind the initial stages of domestication to how the creation of breeds reflects cultural and societal transformations that have impacted the biosphere. Marcelo Sánchez-Villagra draws from a wide range of fields, including evolutionary biology, zooarchaeology, ethnology, genetics, developmental biology, and evolutionary morphology to provide a fresh perspective to this classic topic. Relying on various conceptual and technical tools, he examines the natural history of phenotypes and their developmental origins. He presents case studies involving mammals, birds, fish, and insect species, and he highlights the importance of domestication for the comprehension of evolution, anatomy, ontogeny, and dozens of fundamental biological processes. Bringing together the most current developments, The Process of Animal Domestication will interest a wide range of readers, from evolutionary biologists, developmental biologists, and geneticists to anthropologists and archaeologists.

Author : Raymond Pierotti
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300231679
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The First Domestication written by Raymond Pierotti and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting look at how dog and humans became best friends, and the first history of dog domestication to include insights from indigenous peoples In this fascinating book, Raymond Pierotti and Brandy Fogg change the narrative about how wolves became dogs and in turn, humanity’s best friend. Rather than describe how people mastered and tamed an aggressive, dangerous species, the authors describe coevolution and mutualism. Wolves, particularly ones shunned by their packs, most likely initiated the relationship with Paleolithic humans, forming bonds built on mutually recognized skills and emotional capacity. This interdisciplinary study draws on sources from evolutionary biology as well as tribal and indigenous histories to produce an intelligent, insightful, and often unexpected story of cooperative hunting, wolves protecting camps, and wolf-human companionship. This fascinating assessment is a must-read for anyone interested in human evolution, ecology, animal behavior, anthropology, and the history of canine domestication.

Author : Mark Derr
Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 1590209915
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How the Dog Became the Dog written by Mark Derr and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “informative account” of canine evolution will “appeal to dog lovers with a curiosity about the origins of their favorite companion.” (Publishers Weekly) Many have made the case that dogs have evolved from wolves but the evolutionary link between wolves and dogs remains a mystery. In How the Dog Became the Dog, Mark Derr posits that the dog’s evolution from wolf was inevitable due to the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship between wolves and hunter-gatherer humans. How the Dog Became the Dog presents the domestication of the dog as a biological and cultural process that began with a reciprocal cooperation between dogwolves and humans that evolved over time, from the first dogs that took refuge with humans against the cold at the end of the last Ice Age, to the 18th century, when humans began to exercise full control of dog reproduction, life, and death, through centuries of natural and artificial selection that led us to the many breeds of dogs we know and love today. “A transporting slice of dog/wolf thinking that will pique the interest of anyone with a dog in their orbit.” —Kirkus Reviews

Author : Bob Fischer
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351602373
Total Pages : 584 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics written by Bob Fischer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-12-06 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There isn’t one conversation about animal ethics. Instead, there are several important ones that are scattered across many disciplines.This volume both surveys the field of animal ethics and draws professional philosophers, graduate students, and undergraduates more deeply into the discussions that are happening outside of philosophy departments. To that end, the volume contains more nonphilosophers than philosophers, explicitly inviting scholars from other fields—such as animal science, ecology, economics, psychology, law, environmental science, and applied biology, among others—to bring their own disciplinary resources to bear on matters that affect animals. The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics is composed of 44 chapters, all appearing in print here for the first time, and organized into the following six sections: I. Thinking About Animals II. Animal Agriculture and Hunting III. Animal Research and Genetic Engineering IV. Companion Animals V. Wild Animals: Conservation, Management, and Ethics VI. Animal Activism The chapters are brief, and they have been written in a way that is accessible to serious undergraduate students, regardless of their field of study. The volume covers everything from animal cognition to the state of current fisheries, from genetic modification to intersection animal activism. It is a resource designed for anyone interested in the moral issues that emerge from human interactions with animals.

Author : Richard W. Wrangham
Publisher : Pantheon
ISBN 13 : 1101870907
Total Pages : 402 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Goodness Paradox written by Richard W. Wrangham and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2019 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Highly accessible, authoritative, and intellectually provocative, a startlingly original theory of how Homo sapiens came to be: Richard Wrangham forcefully argues that, a quarter of a million years ago, rising intelligence among our ancestors led to a unique new ability with unexpected consequences: our ancestors invented socially sanctioned capital punishment, facilitating domestication, increased cooperation, the accumulation of culture, and ultimately the rise of civilization itself. Throughout history even as quotidian life has exhibited calm and tolerance[,] war has never been far away, and even within societies violence can be a threat. The Goodness Paradox gives a new and powerful argument for how and why this uncanny combination of peacefulness and violence crystallized after our ancestors acquired language in Africa a quarter of a million years ago. Words allowed the sharing of intentions that enabled men effectively to coordinate their actions. Verbal conspiracies paved the way for planned conflicts and, most importantly, for the uniquely human act of capital punishment. The victims of capital punishment tended to be aggressive men, and as their genes waned, our ancestors became tamer. This ancient form of systemic violence was critical, not only encouraging cooperation in peace and war and in culture, but also for making us who we are: Homo sapiens"--

Author : National Academy of Sciences
Publisher : Sackler Colloquium
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by Sackler Colloquium. This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Author : Timothy Taylor
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 9780230109735
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.3X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Artificial Ape written by Timothy Taylor and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-07-20 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A breakthrough theory that tools and technology are the real drivers of human evolution Although humans are one of the great apes, along with chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, we are remarkably different from them. Unlike our cousins who subsist on raw food, spend their days and nights outdoors, and wear a thick coat of hair, humans are entirely dependent on artificial things, such as clothing, shelter, and the use of tools, and would die in nature without them. Yet, despite our status as the weakest ape, we are the masters of this planet. Given these inherent deficits, how did humans come out on top? In this fascinating new account of our origins, leading archaeologist Timothy Taylor proposes a new way of thinking about human evolution through our relationship with objects. Drawing on the latest fossil evidence, Taylor argues that at each step of our species' development, humans made choices that caused us to assume greater control of our evolution. Our appropriation of objects allowed us to walk upright, lose our body hair, and grow significantly larger brains. As we push the frontiers of scientific technology, creating prosthetics, intelligent implants, and artificially modified genes, we continue a process that started in the prehistoric past, when we first began to extend our powers through objects. Weaving together lively discussions of major discoveries of human skeletons and artifacts with a reexamination of Darwin's theory of evolution, Taylor takes us on an exciting and challenging journey that begins to answer the fundamental question about our existence: what makes humans unique, and what does that mean for our future?

Author : Laura Hobgood-Oster
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781481300209
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.02/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Dog's History of the World written by Laura Hobgood-Oster and published by . This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The power and history of "man's best friend."

Author : Antonio Benítez-Burraco
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2889660931
Total Pages : 121 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Self-Domestication and Human Evolution written by Antonio Benítez-Burraco and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2020-10-23 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.