Contents

#### **Preface XI**



Preface

the earth's surface.

such as fish and insects.

stantly improving, and to global change.

Domestication, which is by definition a long ongoing process, was one of the most sig‐ nificant cultural and evolutionary transitions of human history. Domestication was indeed a core component of a major change in the way of life of an increasing number of human soci‐ eties throughout the world, in a process called Neolithisation. This process constitutes also a fundamental change in the evolution of the biosphere, mainly due to the development of agriculture, which is now responsible for the transformation of approximately 40 percent of

Ever since Darwin, the study of domestication has puzzled scientists. Each year, hundreds of articles, as well as several books, are published in numerous disciplines, among which include archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and zootechny. Nev‐ ertheless, despite this vivid interest, both the terms "domestication" and "domestic animal" remain confusing and poorly defined, and several animal groups are still poorly studied,

Because there is no scientific reason to consider the domestication of land and aquatic ani‐ mals differently, this book groups scholars working both on different topics and animal taxa. Fruitful exchanges between these diverse scholars could bring new insights to both the concept of domestication itself and the differences between wild and domesticated animals. On a more applied view, this could also help to better domesticate species in the future as farmed animals are continuously evolving generations after generations, particularly in re‐ sponse to changes in technology and husbandry practices, which are also evolving and con‐

The book includes seven chapters, three on land animals and four on aquatic animals. The first chapter presents a brief overview of the domestication of land animals, focusing on the five major farmed species (cattle, pig, sheep, goat, and horse). The second chapter provides an in-depth overview of the complex process of domestication, admixture, and selection leading towards the genetic diversity in extant animal breeds, using pig as the model. The third chapter presents an overview of the main ancient and recent insect domestication his‐ tories and rereads them b through the lens of the domestication process, pathways, triggers, and consequences observed in other animal species. The fourth chapter briefly assesses the domestication of fish, by focusing on seven of the main farmed species globally (common carp, Nile tilapia, rainbow trout, striped catfish, Atlantic salmon, European seabass, and At‐ lantic Bluefin tuna). The fifth chapter reviews behavioural traits in hatchery-reared fishes that have often been altered in a characteristic manner by domestication. The sixth chapter is
