Reconsidering domestication from a process archaeology perspective
Amy Bogaard, Robin G. Allaby, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Robin Bendrey, Sarah L. Crowley, Thomas Cucchi, Tim Denham, Laurent Frantz, Dorian Q. Fuller, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Elinor K. Karlsson, Aurélie Manin, Fiona Marshall, Natalie G. Mueller, Joris Peters, Charles Stépanoff, Alexander Weide, Greger Larson
Abstract
Process philosophy offers a metaphysical foundation for domestication studies. This grounding is especially important given the European colonialist origin of ‘domestication’ as a term and 19th century cultural project. We explore the potential of process archaeology for deep-time investigation of domestication relationships, drawing attention to the variable pace of domestication as an ongoing process within and across taxa; the nature of domestication ‘syndromes’ and ‘pathways’ as general hypotheses about process; the importance of cooperation as well as competition among humans and other organisms; the significance of non-human agency; and the ubiquity of hybrid communities that resist the simple wild/domestic dichotomy.