Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Process of Animal Domestication

The shift from hunting wild animal species to managing domesticated herds marked a significant transformation in human society by providing reliable food and resources, supporting permanent settlements, and reshaping social and economic structures. This doctoral dissertation research focuses on the domestication of camelids (llamas and alpacas). As the only large-bodied domesticated animals native to the Americas, camelids have been integral to multiple societies for millennia, providing transportation, wool, and meat. Despite their cultural and economic importance, the genetic diversity of modern camelid populations has drastically declined due to environmental pressures and human interventions, particularly from colonial-era impacts. This project investigates how ancient communities adapted their subsistence strategies amidst the shifting environmental conditions of the deep past. The work has significant implications for modern conservation efforts, offering potential strategies for preserving the genetic diversity of camelids in the face of contemporary challenges such as environmental change and habitat fragmentation. This interdisciplinary project integrates archaeogenomics, isotopic analysis, and environmental data to examine the processes of camelid domestication and management. Researchers combine carbon and nitrogen isotopic data from camelid bones with dental calculus analysis to reconstruct the diets of grazing ancient herds. Additionally, analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA (aDNA) sheds light on the genetic changes that occurred during the domestication process, providing critical insights into how human and environmental pressures influenced the genetic diversity of camelid populations over time. The findings contribute to broader discussions on the evolution of pastoral economies and the role of human-environment interactions in shaping animal domestication. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.