西方学者关于动物驯化研究的新进展——以家猪、山羊和黄牛的研究为例

New Approaches of Recent Studies on Animal Domestication

一、前言人类对动物(及植物)的驯化,被视为是人类历史上最为重要的成就之一,同时也是社会复杂化进程中不可替代的先决条件[1]。从狩猎采集到农业生产的这一生业模式的变革,不仅改变了这些动物和植物,也改变了人类的行为和社会进程,随之而来的是农业的快速传播与人口的极速增长[2]。驯化动物的出现,不仅能够为人类提供稳定的肉食资源,还可以提供奶、皮毛、畜力等副产品,更重要的是。

The domestication of animals(and plants) represents one of the most important achievements in human history during the process of Neolithization and, it is considered a key prerequisite for the later developments of the history of humankind. The transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer not only resulted in changes in the plants and animals involved per se, but also brought about changes in human behavior, followed by the rapid spread of agriculture across the globe and human demographic expansions. Most importantly, the adoption of domestic plants and animals gave rise to food surpluses, triggered an explosion of technology, the dispersal of languages, craft specializations,art, social hierarchys, writing, urbanization and the origin of the states. A better understanding of the origin and dispersal of animal domestication helps to solve the issues mentioned above.This paper provides a wide ranging review of recent studies about animal domestication,mainly focus on pigs, goats and cattle. The new data suggest that both the domestication process and associated management scenarios were much more complex and involved than previously imagined, rather than a simple developmental trajectory of exploitation from wild to domestic animals. The diversity of the precise circumstances of the earliest phases of animal domestication provides the methodological and interpretative foundations to our researches.