Why domesticate food animals? Some zoo-archaeological evidence from the Levant

Zoo-archaeological remains from the southern Levant indicate two shifts in the pattern of animal exploitation from Palaeolithic to Pre-Pottery Neolithic times. These shifts were especially marked towards the end of this time span. One is the increased consumption of small animals and the other shift is an increased hunting of juvenile gazelles compared to adults. Both are interpreted in terms of an increased intensity of exploitation of environmental resources due, it is suggested, to population increase, which subsequently forced people to husband animals.