3 ms·
One question I've had about domesticable animals that I've never seen addressed - likely because, to be fair, it's unfalsifiable - is How many of the North Amer
by eszed 3y ago
One question I've had about domesticable animals that I've never seen addressed - likely because, to be fair, it's unfalsifiable - is How many of the North American large animal species wiped out in the first waves of human settlement would eventually have been domesticable? If the answer is "some, probably" (which doesn't seem unreasonable), then continuous human habitation is a relevant (continental) factor for cultural advancement.
There were horses, at least, not tremendously different morphologically from Asian species, but which (most likely) had not inherited an instinctual fear of humans.
- JackFr 3y agoAn interesting section of GG&S addresses how zebras have never been domesticated (for a number of reasons) despite superficially seeming quite similar to horses. My point is, I guess, it’s hard to know and counterfactuals with hypothetical species are probably not definitive.
- eszed 3y agoAbsolutely fair point: it is an unanswerable question. It's just... Aargh: - Africa, Australia: continuous habitation; no suitable creatures. - Europe, Asia: continuous habitation; suitable creatures. - South America: recent habitation; no suitable creatures (discounting cameloids). - North America: recent habitation; ???. It's a tantalizing, permanent un-known that just invites speculation! Nothing wrong with indulging imagination a bit, so long as we recognize that's what we're doing.