Proces udomowienia zwierząt w świetle badań archeozoologicznych

Abstrakt

Th e process of animal domestication, started during the Upper Palaeolithic, resulted in significant change in human culture and in natural traits. The latter comes under within the ambit of palaeozoology and may be reconstructed mainly basing on animal remains. Complementary evidence is provided by written sources and iconography. In recent years substantial new input has been coming in from genetic studies. The definition of animal domestication formulated by palaeozoologists is as follows: domestication is a form of coexistence of humans with animals, in which the animal is given protection by humans who, in turn, benefit from its exploitation. As a result of breeding isolation and selection animals develop new traits which become hereditary.<br>THE PROCESS OF ANIMAL DOMESTICATION IN THE LIGHT OF ARCHAEOZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH. The process of animal domestication, started during the Upper Palaeolithic, resulted in significant change in human culture and in natural traits. The latter comes under within the ambit of palaeozoology and may be reconstructed mainly basing on animal remains. Complementary evidence is provided by written sources and iconography. In recent years substantial new input has been coming in from genetic studies. The definition of animal domestication formulated by palaeozoologists is as follows: domestication is a form of coexistence of humans with animals, in which the animal is given protection by humans who, in turn, benefit from its exploitation. As a result of breeding isolation and selection animals develop new traits which become hereditary. It is possible to distinguish three stages of domestication: 1) taming, 2) reproduction in captivity, 3) the development of new traits. Among hunter-gatherer peoples taming was a very frequent phenomenon and involved all the animal species present at the time in the human environment. Tamed animals only very rarely produced offspring in captivity. This was due to stress which gave rise to hormonal disorders. Animals resistant to stress were characterised by the following: 1) high flexibility of organism, 2) small distance from humans, 3) strong sense of hierarchy, 4) restricted perception of the senses. Animals able to survive stress and give birth to progeny in captivity lent themselves to domestication. The first stage of coexistence of animals with humans is referred to as animal husbandry during which stress-inducing factors give rise to a mechanism of natural selection. At some point breeding selection may have come into play, that is, deliberate selection by the breeders of animals which would be allowed to reproduce. Combined, the two types of selection resulted in the development of hereditary traits of domestication, and the period of their development is referred to as stock breeding. Domestication traits are divided into morphological, physiological and behavioural. A number of hypotheses has been formulated to explain the reason why humans abandoned hunting and turned to food production. In most of these, economic considerations come to the fore, eg, the spectre of famine. Its causes may could have been different in different areas and periods.