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Domestication.
Most of agriculture presently involves growing domesticated plants and animals that donot appear in the wild. Animal and plant domestication involved a gradual shift in the pattern ofhuman interaction with the environment. For thousands of years prior to domestication, humanssubsisted by scavenging, gathering plants and hunting animals as they were found in theenvironment. Over time they learned to use fire, to make increasingly sophisticated tools, and tocreate art. In some areas, hunting pressure and/or climatic change appear to have decreasedpopulations of game animals. Starting about 12,000 years ago, the process of domestication began in several differentplaces independently: West Asia, East Asia, Central America and South America (see map) areconsidered centers of domestication. Additionally, domestication may have occurred in otherareas, although convincing archeological evidence for this has not been found at this time. In thedomestication process, humans manipulated animals, plants and the environment in various waysto increase the availability of the desirable species and desired traits of these species. Theseactivities changed the selective pressures on the plants and animals, which led to gradual changesin the gene pool and physiology of the desired species.
Dogs were probably the first species to be domesticated. Like several other animals thathave been domesticated, wolves live in hierarchical packs in which most members aresubservient to an individual leader. In the process of domestication, humans could simplyassume the role of pack leader. Animal species that did not live in hierarchical packs, such as thebuffalo, were more difficult to domesticate. .
In wild populations, there is a great deal of genetic diversity which produces variationamong off spring. In the wild, the offspring best suited to the environment survive andreproduce. Humans, however, could alter the survival patterns of different offspring byproviding additional food and protection to dogs of unusual color, size and/or shape.