Dr. Melinda Zeder- Department of Anthropology Lipe Scholar
Senior Scientist, Program in Human Ecology and Archaeobiology, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Thursday March 10th, 2016 | 4:10pm |  College Hall 125  | WSU – Pullman

Pathways to Animal Domestication- a Continuing Journey
Animal domestication represents a milestone in the history of humans, and of the planet we inhabit. Exploring the long history of the diverse and continuing pathways that humans and animal traveled into domestication, learning how and when they first embarked on these journeys, tracing the twists and turns they took along the way is vital to understanding where we come from, how we arrived where we are today and what these pathways will lead us to into the future. This lecture looks at the universal features of animal domestication and its impact on animal domesticates. It brings together archaeology, genetics and animal sciences to trace the pathways that animals and their human partners have followed and continue to follow into domestication. It explores some of the issues that must be confronted- ethical, ecological, social- as we continue to push the frontiers of animal domestication and reshape the lives of all animals living within an increasing pervasive human sphere.