Domestication of Animals and Plants

Domestication of animals and plants can be overviewed as the process, when people keep under control animals and plants. In the process of development of humans and civilizations there was a need to make changes in all spheres of human life and environment, that is why humans started to take care of wild nature. It was a starting point for the humanity and the future progress of the human race (Ingold, 2000, p.23). The process of domestication of wild animals and plants was inevitable and gave people special power and control over nature.

Domestication as an inevitable process in the course of the development of the human race was occurred for certain reasons that gave humans special power over nature. Scholars refer to these reasons, such as: production of food, help in their work, protection of themselves and their households and later on for their personal enjoinment and satisfaction, i.e. ornament plants and pets (Cassidy & Mullin, 2007, p. 32).

As far as the behavioral and morphological differences between wild animals and plants are concerned, it is worth mentioning that our ancestors had overcome great difficulties because of domestication. Wild animals were not friendly to humans and it was a complicated and dangerous process to make them serve for humans` needs (Cassidy & Mullin, 2007, p.37). In the process of domestication, some biological changes in plants and animals, which were involved into domestication, were occurred, such as: morphological, behavioral and physiological. The process of domestication of plants was not so dangerous as animals`, though it should be obvious that many plants that people intended to use as food were not eatable and a lot of people died. Domestication of plants was often held on slaves, because their lives were worth nothing to the owners. Like any other investigative process, domestication was a complex process, because it tended to make changes. Plants exhibit more changes in their structure with those which were wild in the past than animals.

The explanation to behavioral and morphological differences between wild animals and plants may be explained by the findings of different scholars, who see the differences in selection and development (Coppinger et al. 1987, p. 84). Domestication of animals brought them to the great behavioral changes, what made them to serve for people`s needs. Morphological variations between wild animals and plants are observed, as plants exhibit more differences in their natural form and structure (stems, flowers, leaves). Morphological variations of plants have undergone great changes and differences in the process of cultivation. The reasons that may influence on morphological variations of plants may be environmental effects, juvenility and positioning.

Wild animals have been overcome more behavioral changes than plants; their morphological differences are not as evident as wild plants. We must admit that the behavior of wild animals and domestic animals is different due to their housing and care of people, which often treat them like family members.  In the process of domestication wild animals have overcome genetic changes due to adaptation in new environments (Coppinger et al. 1987, p. 41). These genetic changes lead to the improvement of productivity of animals on the farms. One of the most important statements about domestication of wild animals could be the fact that all domestic animals are social animals, which interact with people and environment. That is why the behavior of domestic animals is an essential feature of domestication of wild animals.

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that human`s control over nature made the process of domestication an important part of their life. It was inevitable process in the history of human development and had positive results.