What most distinguishes domesticated animals from their wild ancestors are genetic alterations resulting in tameness, the capacity to tolerate close human proximity. Domestication is an evolutionary process first and foremost. In a human-constructed environment-or man-made world-it pays to be domesticated. Our domesticated species have also thrived, in stark contrast to their wild ancestors. Before the agricultural revolution, there were perhaps 10 million humans on earth. 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. We would still be living at subsistence level as hunter-gatherers if not for domestication.
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