science

Self-domestication

Self-domestication is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Self-domestication rather than just read about it. In short: Self-domestication is a scientific hypothesis that posits the occurrence of a process of artificial selection among human beings, akin to that observed in domesticated animals. This process has been executed by human beings themselves.

Key takeaways

Self-domestication belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Self-domestication to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Self-domestication from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Self-domestication is a scientific hypothesis that posits the occurrence of a process of artificial selection among human beings, akin to that observed in domesticated animals. This process has been executed by human beings themselves. During the process of hominization, a preference for individuals exhibiting collaborative and social behaviors would have emerged, thereby optimizing the benefits for the entire group. This process of artificial selection would have enhanced docility, language, and emotional intelligence. The hypothesis posits that this distinction is the primary factor that distinguishes Homo sapiens from Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus.

Origin and status of the hypothesis In general, domesticated animals possess common characteristics that differentiate them from their non-domesticated counterparts (for example, in the case of Canis familiaris (dogs) compared to their relatives, Canis lupus (wolves), among many other cases): they tend to be more docile and playful, exhibit less aggressive behavior, and show marked neoteny, often resulting in a smaller body, a slightly smaller brain and skull, and shorter teeth and snout. One of the first to scientifically observe that humans present similar traits was the naturalist, anthropologist, and physician Johann Friedrich Blumenbach around 1800. The author of the thesis De generis humani varietate nativa ('On the natural variations in the human lineage') consequently proposed the hypothesis that humans could have been domesticated. A few years later, Charles Darwin addressed the topic using the theory of evolution, which already considered the process of artificial selection in animals. Unable to explain the concept of human domestication from an exclusively scientific perspective (the question of who domesticated humans could only be answered in religious or theistic terms), he eventually dismissed the hypothesis. However, the studies of Dimitri Beliayev in the 20th century were important for the proposal: research on the silver fox demonstrated that in the process of animal domestication, simultaneous changes occurred in behavior (lower levels of adrenaline were observed) and in coat color (alterations in pigmentation): adrenaline could share a biochemical pathway with melanin, a pathway that would be altered during the process of artificial selection. In 2014, scientists Adam Wilkins (from Humboldt University, Berlin), Richard Wrangham (from Harvard University, Massachusetts), and Tecumseh Fitch (from the University of Vienna) proposed that the common origin of these changes lay in neural crest cells, exclusive stem cells of vertebrates that migrate to different parts of the body during the embryonic phase, giving rise to the adrenal glands (responsible for managing the fear and stress response through adrenaline production), melanocytes (responsible for producing skin or coat melanin), and jaws simultaneously. The deficit of these cells would explain the common characteristics of all domesticated animals: tameness, cranial and mandibular reduction, and alterations in pigmentation. Of the three members of the research team, it was primatologist Richard Wrangham who translated these results to humans, asserting that humans have "domesticated" themselves through a process of self-selection (a proposal he would elaborate in "The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution").

In July 2019, a team from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona described, through the methylation of certain genes in DNA, the epigenetic and genetic changes through which neural crest cells were reduced. Subsequently, another research team from the University of Barcelona discovered that the BAZ1B gene controls the behavior of neural crest cells. Comparable with the Neanderthal genome, BAZ1B is also related to genes that have many mutations not present in the homologous genes of our past hominini. Cedric Boeckx, one of the researchers in this study, states:"We believe this means that the genetic network of BAZ1B is an important reason why our face is different compared to other already extinct ancestors, like the Neanderthals [...]. In broad terms, it gives us, for the first time, experimental validation of the autodomestication hypothesis based on the neural crest."

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Self-domestication

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Self-domestication claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Self-domestication before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Self-domestication ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Self-domestication

In research: Self-domestication appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Self-domestication in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Self-domestication is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Domesticated animals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Self-domestication outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Self-domestication in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Self-domestication means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Self-domestication out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Self-domestication in simple terms?

Why does Self-domestication matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Self-domestication?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Self-domestication.