Description
Since that fateful day when the first wolf decided to stay close to human hunters, humans and their various animal companions have thrived far beyond nearly all wild species on earth. Tameness is the key trait in the domestication of cats, dogs, horses, cows, and other mammals, from rats to reindeer. Surprisingly, with selection for tameness comes a suite of seemingly unrelated alterations, including floppy ears, skeletal and coloration changes, and sex differences. It's a package deal known as the domestication syndrome, elements of which are also found in humans. Our highly social nature--one of the keys to our evolutionary success--is due to our own tameness. In Domesticated, Richard C. Francis weaves history and anthropology with cutting-edge ideas in genomics and evo devo to tell the story of how we domesticated the world, and ourselves in the process.
Author: Richard C. Francis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 07/01/2016
Pages: 498
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.55w x 1.20d
ISBN13: 9780393353037
ISBN10: 0393353036
BISAC Categories:
- Science | Life Sciences | Evolution
- Technology & Engineering | Agriculture | Animal Husbandry
- Science | Life Sciences | Zoology | General