Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: When was the pig first domesticated?
Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated from wild boar as early as 13,000–12,700 BC in the Near East in the Tigris Basin,[15] Çayönü, Cafer Höyük, Nevalı Çori[16] being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans.[17] Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BC in Cyprus. Those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then.[18] There was also a separate domestication in China which took place about 8000 years ago.[19][20]
Domestic pigs were first introduced to the Americas in the 16th century. Christopher Columbus intentionally released domestic swine in the West Indies during his second voyage to provide future expeditions with a freely available food supply. Hernando de Soto is known to have introduced Eurasian domestic swine to Florida in 1539, although Juan Ponce de León may have introduced the first pigs into mainland Florida in 1521.
barrow - a castrated male swine boar - a mature male swine; often a wild or feral swine boneen - a very young pig (Ireland) farrow (verb) - to give birth to piglets farrow (noun) - a litter of piglets gilt - a female pig that has never been pregnant or is pregnant for the first time hog - a domestic swine, especially a fully-grown specimen parcel - collective noun pig - strictly, an immature swine; more generally, any swine, especially of the domestic variety piglet - a very young pig queen - a female pig that has never been mated savaging - the act of a sow attacking her own piglets, sometimes killing and cannibalising them shoat - a young pig, especially one that has been weaned sounder - collective noun sow - a mature female swine swine (singular and plural) - a hog; hogs collectively or generally swineherd - one who tends to swine raised as livestock; a pig farmer
When used as livestock, domestic pigs are farmed primarily for the consumption of their flesh, called pork. The animal's bones, hide, and bristles are also used in commercial products. Domestic pigs, especially miniature breeds, are kept as pets.
Guinea pigs do not generally thrive when housed with other species. Housing guinea pigs with other rodents such as gerbils and hamsters may increase instances of respiratory and other infections, and such rodents may act aggressively toward the guinea pig. Larger animals may regard guinea pigs as prey, though some (such as dogs or cats) can be trained to accept them. Opinion is divided over the cohousing of guinea pigs and domestic rabbits. Some published sources say that guinea pigs and rabbits complement each other well when sharing a cage. However, as lagomorphs, rabbits have different nutritional requirements, so the two species cannot be fed the same food. Rabbits may also harbor diseases (such as respiratory infections from "Bordetella" and "Pasteurella"), to which guinea pigs are susceptible. Even a dwarf rabbit is much stronger than a guinea pig and may cause intentional or inadvertent injury.
In 2015, a study looked at the genome sequences of pigs, and found that the assumption of reproductive isolation and strong domestication bottlenecks were incompatible with the data. The domestication process was assumed to have been initiated by humans, involved few individuals, and relied on reproductive isolation between wild and domestic forms. Despite gene flow between domestic and wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs had strong signatures of selection at loci that affect behavior and morphology. The conclusion was that recurrent selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of gene flow from wild boars and created "islands of domestication" in the genome.
In 2015, a study looked at over 100 pig genome sequences to ascertain their process of domestication. The process of domestication was assumed to have been initiated by humans, involved few individuals and relied on reproductive isolation between wild and domestic forms, but the study found that the assumption of reproductive isolation with population bottlenecks was not supported. The study indicated that pigs were domesticated separately in Western Asia and China, with Western Asian pigs introduced into Europe where they crossed with wild boar. A model that fitted the data included admixture with a now extinct ghost population of wild pigs during the Pleistocene. The study also found that despite back-crossing with wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs have strong signatures of selection at genetic loci that affect behavior and morphology. The study concluded that human selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of gene flow from wild boars and created domestication islands in the genome. The same process may also apply to other domesticated animals.
The Iberian pig is a traditional breed of the domestic pig ("Sus scrofa domesticus") that is native to the Iberian Peninsula. The Iberian pig, whose origins can probably be traced back to the Neolithic, when animal domestication started, is currently found in herds clustered in the central and southern part of Portugal and Spain.
Among the animals that the Spanish introduced to the Chiloé Archipelago in the 16th century, pigs were the most successful to adapt. The pigs benefited from abundant shellfish and algae exposed by the large tides of the archipelago.[26] Pigs were brought to southeastern North America from Europe by de Soto and other early Spanish explorers. Escaped pigs became feral and caused a great deal of disruption to Native Americans, who had no domesticated animals, with the exception of dogs.[27] Feral pig populations in the southeastern United States have since migrated north and are a growing concern in the Midwest. Considered an invasive species, many state agencies have programs to trap or hunt feral pigs as means of removal.[28][29][30] Domestic pigs have become feral in many other parts of the world (e.g. New Zealand and northern Queensland) and have caused substantial environmental damage.[31][32] Feral hybrids of the European wild boar with the domestic pig are also very disruptive to both environment and agriculture (among the 100 most damaging animal species),[33] especially in southeastern South America from Uruguay to Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul (Center-West Region), and São Paulo (state) (Southeast Region), where they are known as javaporcos (from javali and porco, thus "boar-pigs").[34][35][36][37][38]
The virus of Nairobi sheep disease in East Africa is transmitted by "Rhipicephalus" ticks. African swine fever is naturally transmitted between wild species of the pig family by feeding of "Ornithodoros moubata" group ticks. This pattern of transmission can expand to include domestic pigs. However, within groups of domestic pigs, the virus can also be transmitted by contagion. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus is transmitted between many mammal species by "Hyalomma truncatum", "Hyalomma rufipes", and "Hyalomma turanicum" over a wide area of Africa, Europe, and Asia. In cattle and sheep, it causes mild fever and its main importance is when it spreads to humans (zoonosis) by feeding of the larvae or nymphs of these ticks. There are other viruses transmitted by ticks between wild animals and that have zoonotic importance when humans also become infected. The epidemiological pathways of these viruses can also involve domestic animals, if only by being hosts that add to the size of the tick population. Examples include the viruses that cause Tick-borne encephalitis, and Kyasanur Forest disease.
Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, a small breed of domestic pig, have made popular pets in the United States beginning in the latter half of the twentieth century.
The adaptable nature and omnivorous diet of the wild boar allowed early humans to domesticate it readily. Pigs were mostly used for food, but early civilizations also used the pigs' hides for shields, bones for tools and weapons, and bristles for brushes.[25] In India, pigs have been domesticated for a long time, mostly in Goa and some rural areas, for pig toilets. Though ecologically logical as well as economical, pig toilets are waning in popularity as use of septic tanks and sewage systems is increasing in rural areas.
With the exception of domestic pigs in Timor and Papua New Guinea (which appear to be of Sulawesi warty pig stock), the wild boar is the ancestor of most pig breeds. Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated from wild boar as early as 13,000–12,700 BC in the Near East in the Tigris Basin being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BC in Cyprus. Those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then. There was also a separate domestication in China which took place about 8000 years ago. DNA evidence from sub-fossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs shows that the first domestic pigs in Europe had been brought from the Near East. This stimulated the domestication of local European wild boars, resulting in a third domestication event with the Near Eastern genes dying out in European pig stock. Modern domesticated pigs have involved complex exchanges, with European domesticated lines being exported in turn to the ancient Near East. Historical records indicate that Asian pigs were introduced into Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Domestic pigs tend to have much more developed hindquarters than their wild boar ancestors, to the point where 70% of their body weight is concentrated in the posterior, which is the opposite of wild boar, where most of the muscles are concentrated on the head and shoulders.
In August 2015, a study looked at over 100 pig genome sequences to ascertain their process of domestication, which was assumed to have been initiated by humans, involved few individuals, and relied on reproductive isolation between wild and domestic forms. The study found that the assumption of reproductive isolation with population bottlenecks was not supported. The study indicated that pigs were domesticated separately in Western Asia and China, with Western Asian pigs introduced into Europe, where they crossed with wild boar. A model that fitted the data included a mixture with a now extinct ghost population of wild pigs during the Pleistocene. The study also found that despite back-crossing with wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs have strong signatures of selection at DNA loci that affect behavior and morphology. The study concluded that human selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of gene flow from wild boars and created domestication islands in the genome. The same process may also apply to other domesticated animals.[23][24]
The domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus or only Sus domesticus), often called swine, hog, or simply pig when there is no need to distinguish it from other pigs, is a domesticated large, even-toed ungulate. It is variously considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species. The domestic pig's head-plus-body-length ranges from 0.9 to 1.8m (35 to 71in), and adult pigs typically weigh between 50 and 350kg (110 and 770lb), with well-fed individuals often exceeding this weight range. The size and weight of a hog largely depends on its breed. Compared to other artiodactyls, its head is relatively long, pointed, and free of warts. Even-toed ungulates are generally herbivorous, but the domestic pig is an omnivore, like its wild relative.
Many breeds of domestic pig exist; in many colors, shapes, and sizes. According to The Livestock Conservancy, as of 2016, three breeds of domestic pig are critically rare (having a global population of fewer than 2000). They are the Choctaw hog, the Mulefoot, and the Ossabaw Island pig.[78] The known smallest domestic pig breed in the world is the Göttingen minipig, typically weighing about 26 kilograms (57lb) as a healthy, full-grown adult.[79]
Domestic pig heart Domestic pig kidney Domestic pig testis Domestic pig fetus Domestic pig testis Domestic pig scrotal sac Female reproductive tract of a domestic pig Domestic pig fetus
In August 2015, a study looked at over 100 pig genome sequences to ascertain their process of domestication. The process of domestication was assumed to have been initiated by humans, involved few individuals and relied on reproductive isolation between wild and domestic forms. The study found that the assumption of reproductive isolation with population bottlenecks was not supported. The study indicated that pigs were domesticated separately in Western Asia and China, with Western Asian pigs introduced into Europe where they crossed with wild boar. A model that fitted the data included admixture with a now extinct ghost population of wild pigs during the Pleistocene. The study also found that despite back-crossing with wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs have strong signatures of selection at DNA loci that affect behavior and morphology. The study concluded that human selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of gene flow from wild boars and created domestication islands in the genome. The same process may also apply to other domesticated animals.
DNA evidence from subfossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs shows that the first domestic pigs in Europe had been brought from the Near East. This stimulated the domestication of local European wild boar, resulting in a third domestication event with the Near Eastern genes dying out in European pig stock. Modern domesticated pigs have involved complex exchanges, with European domesticated lines being exported, in turn, to the ancient Near East.[21][22] Historical records indicate that Asian pigs were introduced into Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries.[19]
Because the domestic pig is a major domesticated animal, English has many terms unique to the species:
The guinea pig was first domesticated as early as 5000 BC for food by tribes in the Andean region of South America (the present-day southern part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), some thousands of years after the domestication of the South American camelids. Statues dating from "circa" 500 BC to 500 AD that depict guinea pigs have been unearthed in archaeological digs in Peru and Ecuador. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art. From about 1200 AD to the Spanish conquest in 1532, selective breeding resulted in many varieties of domestic guinea pigs, which form the basis for some of the modern domestic breeds. They continue to be a food source in the region; many households in the Andean highlands raise the animal, which subsists on the family's vegetable scraps. Folklore traditions involving guinea pigs are numerous; they are exchanged as gifts, used in customary social and religious ceremonies, and frequently referenced in spoken metaphors. They also play a role in traditional healing rituals by folk doctors, or "curanderos", who use the animals to diagnose diseases such as jaundice, rheumatism, arthritis, and typhus. They are rubbed against the bodies of the sick, and are seen as a supernatural medium. Black guinea pigs are considered especially useful for diagnoses. The animal also may be cut open and its entrails examined to determine whether the cure was effective. These methods are widely accepted in many parts of the Andes, where Western medicine is either unavailable or distrusted.
When in use as livestock, the domestic pig is mostly farmed for its meat, pork. Other food products made from pigs include pork sausage (which includes casings that are made from the intestines), bacon, gammon, ham and pork rinds. The head of a pig can be used to make a preserved jelly called head cheese, which is sometimes known as brawn. Liver, chitterlings, blood (for black pudding), and other offal from pigs are also widely used for food. In some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, pork is a taboo food.
Domestication can be considered as the final phase of intensification in the relationship between animal or plant sub-populations and human societies, but it is divided into several grades of intensification. For studies in animal domestication, researchers have proposed five distinct categories: wild, captive wild, domestic, cross-breeds and feral.In 2015, a study compared the diversity of dental size, shape and allometry across the proposed domestication categories of modern pigs (genus "Sus"). The study showed clear differences between the dental phenotypes of wild, captive wild, domestic, and hybrid pig populations, which supported the proposed categories through physical evidence. The study did not cover feral pig populations but called for further research to be undertaken on them, and on the genetic differences with hybrid pigs.
Domesticated guinea pigs thrive in groups of two or more; groups of sows, or groups of one or more sows and a neutered boar are common combinations, but boars can sometimes live together. Guinea pigs learn to recognize and bond with other individual pigs, and testing of boars shows their neuroendocrine stress response is significantly lowered in the presence of a bonded female when compared to the presence of unfamiliar females. Groups of boars may also get along, provided their cage has enough space, they are introduced at an early age, and no females are present. Domestic guinea pigs have developed a different biological rhythm from their wild counterparts, and have longer periods of activity followed by short periods of sleep in between. Activity is scattered randomly throughout the day; aside from an avoidance of intense light, no regular circadian patterns are apparent.
If conditions permit, domestic pigs feed continuously for many hours and then sleep for many hours, in contrast to ruminants which tend to feed for a short time and then sleep for a short time. Pigs are omnivorous, and are highly versatile in their feeding behaviour. As they are foraging animals, they primarily eat leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and flowers.[53] Domestic pigs are highly intelligent animals,[54] and according to David DiSalvo's writing in Forbes, they are "widely considered the smartest domesticated animal in the world. Pigs can move a cursor on a video screen with their snouts and even learn to distinguish between the scribbles they knew from those they saw for the first time."[55][lower-alpha 1][59]