Humans may have started tending animals almost 13,000 years ago
Evidence of charred dung may push the onset of animal husbandry back about 2,000 years
Hunter-gatherer groups living in southwest Asia may have started keeping and caring for animals nearly 13,000 years ago — roughly 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Ancient plant samples extracted from present-day Syria show hints of charred dung, indicating that people were burning animal droppings by the end of the Old Stone Age, researchers report September 14 in PLOS One. The findings suggest humans were using the dung as fuel and may have started animal tending during or even before the transition to agriculture. But what animals produced the dung and the exact nature of the animal-human relationship remain unclear.