RESEARCH ARTICLE

EARLY CROP AND FARM ANIMAL DOMESTICATION IN SOUTH ASIA BASED ON ETHNOBOTANICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDINGS

Abstract

The greatest difference in the archaeological study of plants and animals is that in plants the selective pressures introduced under domestication operate directly on morphological traits, whereas in animals they operate on behavioral attributes. There has been significant work done in excavating specific archaeological sites specifically for ethnobotanical and animal remains in South Asia. Some of these sites are in the Indus Valley, the Northern Gangetic Plain, and the Southern Provinces. Due to paucity of finds of actual specimens, archeobotanists have been relying on written records and evidence from the use of languages. The writings of ancient Greek philosophers, like Socrates, Theophrastus, and Plato, as regards domesticated plants and animals were not always accurate. The main mammals domesticated to serve man for transport and labor are the horse, donkey, camel and the elephant. These animals have served South Asian agriculture for over 6000 years, and in some areas still do, before mechanical tools and machines overtook them. Agriculture originated in the “Fertile Crescent” and a great majority of South Asian farm animals came from elsewhere. However, considerable more archaeological and ethnobotanical work needs to be done in South Asia in order that a clearer picture of farm animal and crop domestication emerges. Farming could have begun in South Asia earlier than what is mentioned in the current literature.

Keywords: domestication, early agriculture, farming draft animals, South Asia, Sri Lanka

How to Cite: Damania,A.B, (2017). EARLY CROP AND FARM ANIMAL DOMESTICATION IN SOUTH ASIA BASED ON ETHNOBOTANICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDINGS.WILDLANKA, 5(3):Pages 107-132

Published On:2017-09-30

Download