Darwin's theory of evolution is widely accepted and taught as fact. Darwin's theory of evolution is one gradual change and took many generations well beyond a typical human lifetime. This idea was affirmed by the evidence of long episodes of gradual change in organisms in the fossil record and due to no one observing the sudden appearance of a new species.
The genetics of domestication had also been of great interest to Darwin. It was recognized that domesticated animals differ in several ways from their wild counterparts, but it was not known what principle of selection had guided the Neolithic farmers who had first domesticated various species such as dogs.
Enter Dmitry Belyayev.
Dmitry Belyayev was a Russian geneticist who served as the director of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the USSR Academy of Sciences 1959-1985. Starting in 1958 Belyayev experimented in Siberia breeding Silver Foxes for the purpose of domestication. Silver Foxes were being raised for their furs to be used in clothing.
The problem was the Silver Foxes were aggressive and difficult to handle. Belyayev theorized that breeding for tameness alone would cause a cascade of other changes.
He was proven correct. After selective breeding and choosing foxes for tameness alone the Silver Foxes started showing traits of other domesticated animals most specifically dogs. They began to bark, had floppy ears, their color changed to the more common black & white present in domesticated animals, they would lick people to show appreciation, they would play even into adulthood, and were not afraid of people. Belyayev had turned wild foxes into a fox that behaved like a dog.
Belyayev had proven beyond any doubt that evolutionary changes can happen very quickly.
This begs the question. How do these findings apply to humans?
You can view a video companion to this article at the link below on dtube.
