Domesticated
Richard C. Francis
W.W. Norton & Co., $27.95
Docile dairy cows don’t inspire a lot of respect or awe. But Stone Age people must have had a different view of Bessie’s ancestors, the aurochs. Males could weigh 1.5 metric tons, and hunting the aggressive beasts was perilous.
The taming of the auroch probably began with rounding up those animals that would tolerate humans. Eventually, people could have selected mild-mannered aurochs for breeding. By contrast, now-tame predators such as dogs and cats may have kick-started their own domestication, with friendlier animals thriving on food they found in camps and settlements.