Sheep and wheat domestication in southwest Asia: a meta-trajectory of intensification and loss.

Abstract

• Biologists since Darwin considered domestication a model for the study of evolution; we argue that domestication may also be a model for the study of globalization. • The long-term history of wheat and sheep domestication exemplifies the intensification of relationships between humans and a small number of species native to southwest Asia, which includes long-term globalizing processes. • Specific indicators are offered for tracking the long-term globalization of sheep and wheat, with reference to production intensity, geographic diffusion, and diversity.