Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selectino, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. A defining characteristic of domestication is artificial selections by humans.
Plants are domestication primarily for aesthetic enjoyment in and around the home (house plants, ornamentals), while others are domesticated for large-scale food production (crops). Likewise, animals domesticated for home companionship are called pets while those domesticated for food or work are called livestock or farm animals.
It is believed that the first attempt at domestication of both animals and plants were made in the Old World by peoples of the Mesolithic Period. The tribes that took part in hunting and gathering wild edible plants started to make attempts to domestication dogs, goats, and possibly sheep as early as 9000BC. It was not until the Neolithic Period that primitive agriculture appears as a form of social activity and domestication was well under way.
Some interesting dates/location of animal domestication:
Dog, 15000BC, East Asia/Africa
Sheep, 9-11000 BC, Southwest Asia
Pig, 9000 BC, Near East/China
Cow, 8000 BC, India/Middle East/Sub-Saharan Africa
Cat, 7500 BC, Cyprus/Near East
Chicken, 6000BC, India/Southeast Asia
Honey Bee, 4000BC, Vast domestication
Horse, 4000BC, Eurasian Steppes
Ferret, 1500 BC, Europe
Turkey, 500 BC, Mexico
Wikipedia.org
The domestication of animals (as seen in Still in Life) not only refers to the physical taming of animals, but also to the domestication of animal representations (2d,3d, oral) and byproducts (fur, teeth, bones, etc).
Early English 18th century coinage
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