Though dogs are so close genetically to wolves that many taxonomists consider them to be a subspecies, most people wouldn’t let a wolf lick their hand as readily as a Shih Tzu. When animals are ...

The ancient peoples of Latin America did us all a tremendous favor by saving avocados from extinction and gradually making them tastier over thousands of years of domestication. (Credit: Markus via ...

In the 19th century, Charles Darwin was one of the first to notice something interesting about domesticated animals: different species often developed similar changes when compared to their ancient ...

Despite the ubiquity of cats in modern homes, we still don't know many details about the timing and routes of early cat domestication and dispersal into Europe and beyond, aside from the common ...

Domesticating horses had a huge impact on human society—new science rewrites where and when it first happened Across human history, no single animal has had a deeper impact on human societies than the ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. A domesticated animal is one that has been bred and adapted ...

Modern agriculture highly depends on the achievements of crop domestication and improvement. While these activities increase yields, they also reduce the genetic diversity of crops. At the same time, ...

Dr. Sarah Bexell of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) at the University of Denver recently sent me a very interesting email. 1 She wrote, "A student, Stephanie, asked if there are cases ...

Archaeologists have discovered remains of the earliest example of dog domestication on the Arabian Peninsula, providing a look into pet ownership 6,000 years ago. When archaeologists in Saudi Arabia ...