Domesticated megafauna of Americas: needs, possibilities and results

Dragica Salamon (), Luana Velagic, Bernard Kuhar and Alen Dzidic
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Dragica Salamon: University of Zagreb - Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, Croatia
Luana Velagic: University of Zagreb - Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, Croatia
Bernard Kuhar: University of Zagreb - Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, Croatia
Alen Dzidic: University of Zagreb - Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, Croatia

Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, 2020, vol. 18, issue 2A, 72-84

Abstract: To determine why so few domestic animals originated in American domestication centres, the knowledge for this article was gathered from interdisciplinary sources taking into account recent archaeogenomic and spatial analysis research. The process of domestication is described, and different domestication centres are compared to the domestication needs and opportunities on the American continents. Human colonization of the American continent is considered. Important domestication centres on North and South American continent are described. Dogs that colonized the American continents with people, and horses who arrived during the European colonization are also considered. The analysis of the American megafauna that lived on the continent during the first colonization of Homo sapiens showed that the big extinction occurred due to the climate changes and overhunting. Comparing the evolutionary process of domestication between Afro-Eurasia and America we found that there was no intentional domestication in areas peripheral to the original domestication centres in the Americas. Also, diversification of the domesticated animal purpose in the Americas is limited to dog.

Keywords: North America; South America; domestication; animals; megafauna (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zna:indecs:v:18:y:2020:i:2:p:72-84

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