The Domestication of Boar, Wolves, and Aurochs (Wild Chicken Too!)

The Skeleton of an Auroch

The domestication of wild animals was a major turning point in human history. Once humans tamed animals, they had a more reliable source of food -- including meat, milk, and eggs.

In addition, they could use the animals for transportation and to help with a variety of difficult tasks (including lots of tasks related to agriculture).


The students did a great job imagining that they were hunter-gatherers trying to choose a particular species of animal to domesticate. They discussed questions related to (1) how each animal could help humans and (2) whether the animal would be especially difficult to tame:
  • What would humans feed this animal?  Would humans have to compete with the animal for food?
  • Would the animal provide a significant amount of meat for humans to eat?
  • Would the animal provide a significant amount of milk for humans to drink?
  • Can this animal be easily herded and controlled?
  • Can this animal do work for humans? Can this animal help protect humans?
Kelsey, Ben, Sophia, Lyra and Gus gave a concise, clear summary of the reasons that aurochs (wild cattle) were the number one contender for domestication by Stone Age hunter-gatherers. They said:
Domesticated cows could provide humans with the most milk and the most meat of any domesticated animal. 
PLUS, they would have been the easiest to feed (they primarily eat grass), they could be easily herded and controlled, and they do lots of hard work like pulling heavy things that humans don't want to pull.
An additional shout out to Whitt S. and Sophie. They pointed out that aurochs/cows appear the most frequently in the hunter-gatherers' cave art. Whitt and Sophie argued that prehistoric people may have painted cows so often because the cows -- out of all the domesticated animals -- were especially important to their way of life.

The picture at the very top of this post is an auroch skeleton. Do you know what breed of domestic cow is in the picture above?

Let's also give a shout-out to Team Wolf and Team Boar! Many of you did a great job explaining the many helpful characteristics of domesticated dogs and pigs.

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