The British agricultural revolution involved animal breeding starting in about 1750.
Darwin didn’t publish Origin of Species until 1859, so in reality it took about 100 years for the other shoe to drop.
100 years is nothing in the evolution of a civilization though. The time between agricultural revolution and the discovery of evolution is not a typical period in the history of humanity.
Selective breeding isn’t necessarily the same as artificial selection, however. The taming of dogs and cats was largely considered accidental; the neotenous animals were more human-friendly and thus able to access greater amounts of food supplies from humans until eventually they could directly interact, whereupon (at least in dogs) “usefulness” became a valued trait.
There wasn’t purposefulness in this; people just fed the better dogs more and disliked the ‘worse’ dogs. It wasn’t until the mid-1700′s that dog ‘breeds’ became a concept.
There wasn’t purposefulness in this; people just fed the better dogs more and disliked the ‘worse’ dogs. It wasn’t until the mid-1700′s that dog ‘breeds’ became a concept.
There were certainly attempts to breed specific traits earlier than that. But they were hindered by a poor understanding of inheritance. For example, in the Bible, Jacob tried to breed speckled cattle by putting speckled rods in front of the cattle when they are trying to mate. Problems with understanding genetics works at a basic level was an issue even for much later and some of them still impact what are officially considered purebreds now.
I think that deliberate breeding of stronger horses dates back prior to the 1700s, at least to the early Middle Ages, but I don’t have a source for that.
Absolutely. Even the dog-breeding practitioners were unaware of how inheritence operates; that didn’t come about until Gregor Mendel. We really do take for granted the vast sums of understanding about the topic we are inculcated with simply through cultural osmosis.
The British agricultural revolution involved animal breeding starting in about 1750. Darwin didn’t publish Origin of Species until 1859, so in reality it took about 100 years for the other shoe to drop.
100 years is nothing in the evolution of a civilization though. The time between agricultural revolution and the discovery of evolution is not a typical period in the history of humanity.
Selective breeding had been around much longer than that.
Selective breeding isn’t necessarily the same as artificial selection, however. The taming of dogs and cats was largely considered accidental; the neotenous animals were more human-friendly and thus able to access greater amounts of food supplies from humans until eventually they could directly interact, whereupon (at least in dogs) “usefulness” became a valued trait.
There wasn’t purposefulness in this; people just fed the better dogs more and disliked the ‘worse’ dogs. It wasn’t until the mid-1700′s that dog ‘breeds’ became a concept.
There were certainly attempts to breed specific traits earlier than that. But they were hindered by a poor understanding of inheritance. For example, in the Bible, Jacob tried to breed speckled cattle by putting speckled rods in front of the cattle when they are trying to mate. Problems with understanding genetics works at a basic level was an issue even for much later and some of them still impact what are officially considered purebreds now.
I think that deliberate breeding of stronger horses dates back prior to the 1700s, at least to the early Middle Ages, but I don’t have a source for that.
Absolutely. Even the dog-breeding practitioners were unaware of how inheritence operates; that didn’t come about until Gregor Mendel. We really do take for granted the vast sums of understanding about the topic we are inculcated with simply through cultural osmosis.