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How did domesticated animals help people obtain food more reliably?
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Domestication
Domesticated yaks (Bos grunniens) carrying supplies to an Everest base camp in Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu region, Nepal.
Domesticated animals provided a more reliable food supply by acting as a form of insurance during lean seasons and making resource planning more predictable in regions with extreme seasonal variation. Unlike hunting wild game, which could be unpredictable, keeping herds of animals like sheep, goats, reindeer, or cattle allowed humans to obtain meat and milk with greater consistency.1
The transition to relying on these animals involved several key developments:
- Resource Management: By keeping animals together for protection and control, humans could manage their food sources more effectively than by relying solely on foraging or hunting wild counterparts.12
- New Food Sources: The ability to milk lactating animals allowed humans to tap into a new, renewable food source. Over time, human populations physiologically adapted to digest milk as adults.2
- Selective Breeding: Through domestication, humans selected for traits that increased the utility of these animals, such as higher meat, milk, or egg yields, making them more productive than their wild ancestors.34
- Support for Agriculture: Cattle were particularly significant as they provided traction, which contributed to the development of agriculture and the ability to produce food on a larger scale.34