Tamed: From Wild to Domesticated, the Ten Animals and Plants That Changed Human History - Alice Roberts

\n Dogs became our companions. \nWheat fed booming populations. \nCattle gave us meat and milk. \nCorn fueled the growth of empires. \nPotatoes brought feast and famine. \nChickens inspired new branches of science. \nRice promised a golden future. \nHorses gave us strength and speed. \nApples provided harvestable sweetness. \nHumans tamed them all. \n \n For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors were just one wild species among many, their survival dependent on the whims of nature. Then, gradually, we began to tame the plants and animals all around us--and ourselves. \n \n Combining genetics, archaeology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology, Tamed tells the story of the greatest revolution in human history, revealing the fascinating origins of crucial domesticated species and how they, in turn, transformed us. Dogs, our first natural ally, aided Ice Age-era hunters and gatherers. Domesticated horses led to new ideas about hunting and combat in the Eurasian Steppe. The reliability of wheat and corn allowed humans to settle down and build civilizations of unprecedented complexity. \n \n As she uncovers the astounding global implications of domestication, Alice Roberts urges us to look again at our relationship with the natural world--and our incredible influence upon it.\n