**Dogs **became our companions.Wheatfed booming populations.Cattlegave us meat and milk.Cornfueled the growth of empires.Potatoesbrought feast and famine.Chickensinspired new branches of science.Ricepromised a golden future.Horsesgave us strength and speed.Applesprovided harvestable sweetness.Humans...

**Dogs **became our companions.Wheatfed booming populations.Cattlegave us meat and milk.Cornfueled the growth of empires.Potatoesbrought feast and famine.Chickensinspired new branches of science.Ricepromised a golden future.Horsesgave us strength and speed.Applesprovided harvestable sweetness.Humans tamed them all.

For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors were just one wild species among many, their survival dependent on the whims of nature. Then, gradually, we began to tame the plants and animals all around us--and ourselves.

Combining genetics, archaeology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology, Tamed tells the story of the greatest revolution in human history, revealing the fascinating origins of crucial domesticated species and how they, in turn, transformed us. Dogs, our first natural ally, aided Ice Age-era hunters and gatherers. Domesticated horses led to new ideas about hunting and combat in the Eurasian Steppe. The reliability of wheat and corn allowed humans to settle down and build civilizations of unprecedented complexity.

As she uncovers the astounding global implications of domestication, Alice Roberts urges us to look again at our relationship with the natural world--and our incredible influence upon it.