Editing Domestication (section)

{{short description|Selective breeding of plants and animals to serve humans}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Murgjo Sharr Mountain Dog Nedi Limani.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Dog]]s and [[sheep]] were among the first animals to be domesticated, at least 15,000 and 11,000 years ago respectively.<ref name="MacHugh Larson Orlando 2017" />]]
[[File:1962-05 1962年 海南岛乐东县 黎族民众插秧.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Rice]] was domesticated in China, some 9,000 years ago.<ref name="Fornasiero Wing Ronald 2022" />]]

'''Domestication''' is a multi-generational [[Mutualism (biology)|mutualistic]] relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or [[leafcutter ant]]s, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, to obtain from them a steady supply of resources, such as meat, milk, or labor. The process is gradual and geographically diffuse, based on trial and error. Domestication affected genes for behavior in animals, making them less aggressive. In plants, domestication affected genes for morphology, such as increasing seed size and stopping the [[Shattering (agriculture)|shattering]] of cereal seedheads. Such changes both make domesticated organisms easier to handle and reduce their ability to survive in the wild.

The first [[Domestication of animals|animal to be domesticated]] by humans was the [[domestication of the dog|dog]], as a [[Commensalism|commensal]], at least 15,000 years ago. Other animals, including [[goat]]s, [[sheep]], and [[cow]]s, were domesticated around 11,000 years ago. Among birds, the [[chicken]] was first domesticated in East Asia, seemingly for cockfighting, some 7,000 years ago. The horse came under domestication around 5,500 years ago in central Asia as a working animal. Among [[invertebrate]]s, the [[silkworm]] and the [[western honey bee]] were domesticated over 5,000 years ago for [[silk]] and [[honey]], respectively.

The domestication of plants began around 13,000–11,000 years ago with [[cereal]]s such as [[wheat]] and [[barley]] in the [[Middle East]], alongside crops such as [[lentil]], [[pea]], [[chickpea]], and [[flax]]. Beginning around 10,000 years ago, Indigenous peoples in the Americas began to cultivate [[peanut]]s, [[Squash (plant)|squash]], [[maize]], [[potato]]es, [[cotton]], and [[cassava]]. [[Rice]] was first domesticated in China some 9,000 years ago. In Africa, crops such as [[sorghum]] were domesticated. [[History of agriculture|Agriculture developed]] in some 13 centres around the world, domesticating different crops and animals.

Three groups of insects, namely [[ambrosia beetle]]s, [[leafcutter ant]]s, and [[fungus-growing termites]] have independently domesticated species of fungi, on which they feed. In the case of the termites, the relationship is a fully obligate symbiosis on both sides.