Domestication is the process by which humans tame wild animals or plants over many generations, changing them so they can live alongside people and serve human needs. When ancient people domesticated wolves thousands of years ago, they gradually bred the friendliest, most helpful wolves together until, generation by generation, those animals became dogs. The same process turned wild grass seeds into wheat, fierce jungle fowl into chickens, and aggressive wild boars into farm pigs.

Domestication takes enormous patience because it happens over hundreds or even thousands of years. You can't domesticate a single wild animal just by raising it from birth: that's called taming. True domestication changes the species itself through selective breeding. Domesticated animals often look different from their wild ancestors: they might have floppier ears, different colors, or calmer personalities. Domesticated plants typically produce bigger fruits or seeds than their wild relatives.

The domestication of wheat, rice, cattle, and other species transformed human history. It allowed people to stop wandering as hunter-gatherers and instead settle down to farm. This led to villages, then cities, and eventually civilization as we know it. Today, almost all the animals on farms and the crops in fields are domesticated species that barely resemble their wild ancestors. When you eat an apple or pet your cat, you're experiencing the results of domestication that began long before recorded history.