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“Reading the Signs of Ancient Animal Domestication”

“Reading the Signs of Ancient Animal Domestication”. A Fine MS Paint Adventure for Anthro. Transition from HUNTING to HUSBANDRY. Two theories of fossil analysis to determine when the shift first occurred Size Gender demography. Size Theory.

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“Reading the Signs of Ancient Animal Domestication”

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  1. “Reading the Signs of Ancient Animal Domestication” A Fine MS Paint Adventure for Anthro

  2. Transition from HUNTING to HUSBANDRY • Two theories of fossil analysis to determine when the shift first occurred • Size • Gender demography

  3. Size Theory If you are a hunter, which pig do you want to kill? If you are trying to capture a pig to take it back home and try to raise it, which one are you going to try to nab?

  4. Size Theory 2: Electric Boogaloo In which scenario will the boar likely grow the largest?

  5. Size Summary • Hunting would favor taking larger game to better feed group • Taking animals to raise them might favor grabbing the easier to capture, less dangerous smaller animals • Confining animals outside their normal range might also lead to less healthy, smaller animals • The shift from hunting to raising animals is signified in the fossil record by preponderance of smaller fossils of the animals

  6. Demography • For our demographic example, we will use sheep.

  7. Demography - Hunting Why the disparity?

  8. Demography – Herding 1 If our farmer raises ONE female and FIVE males to adulthood, each breeding cycle that farmer can get one additional cute baby sheep Imagine an olde-timey sheep farmer If the same farmer raises ONE male and FIVE females to adulthood, each breeding cycle that farmer can get FIVE additonal cute baby sheeps!

  9. Demography – Herding 2: Electric Boogaloo

  10. Demography Summary • Analysis of hunted versus herded animals should show a gender disparity • Preferred animals in hunting tend to be mature larger males • greater representation for larger males in fossil record • In a domesticated herd a small number of adult males can breed with a large number of females, so female young are kept, raised, and bred until no longer reproductively viable. Most young males are eaten, while relatively few are raised to adulthood. • Mostly older and larger female fossils, mostly smaller and younger male fossils

  11. Combo Platter!?!? • A combination of methods gives us domestication dates for goats, sheep, and pigs in the neighborhood of 10,000 years ago

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