Thinking about how humans co-evolved with other animals yields so many cool insights. I’m going to be interested to hear what you all think about the section of Dunn we’re reading that shows how cattle domesticated us just as much as we domesticated them! Molly, I’m glad you got so much out of these chapters of Bulliet. While it does seem odd to talk about periodization before discussing domestication itself, what I like about those early chapters is the way they encourage us to remember that our contemporary attitudes toward and treatment of different animals are partly a function of changing historical circumstances and relationships. The next step is to think about domestication as an ongoing evolutionary process rather than as an event. It’s complicated for sure!

These questions about the cultural significance of dogs walking off-lead are fascinating. What do you think they say about human culture? Clutton-Brock talks about cultures of animals, and one of the interesting things about domesticated animals is how their cultures are implicated in and bound up with ours. I’d be curious to hear how you saw Clutton-Brock’s discussion of domestication connecting with the theories put forth by Ingold and Bulliet.