Assessment Questions 8.7

1. How long have humans relied exclusively on wild foods before the advent of agriculture, and when did the shift to controlling food sources begin?

For more than 99% of human history, people relied exclusively on wild foods. The shift to controlling food sources by cultivating domesticated plants and herding animals began around 12,000 years ago.

2. What is artificial selection, and how did it play a role in the transition from gathering wild foods to agriculture?

Artificial selection is the process of selecting individuals within a plant or animal species with desirable characteristics advantageous to humans. It played a role in the transition by allowing humans to consciously alter the characteristics of plants and animals over many generations, favoring traits beneficial from a human perspective.

3. Explain the concept of domestication and how it differs from wild ancestors.

Domestication involves altering plant or animal species through artificial selection to produce populations with characteristics advantageous from a human perspective. Domesticated species are no longer the same as their wild ancestors.