Storytelling and story testing in domestication

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics
• Archaeology
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Domestication of plants and animals is a pivotal event in global history.
• Traditionally studied by archaeologists and agricultural scientists, domestication is now a multidisciplinary field involving evolutionary biologists and geneticists.
• New data sources and methods have advanced understanding but created complex datasets with interpretation challenges like equifinality and evolutionary variance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address limitations in interpreting complex domestication datasets.
• To present explicit modeling approaches as a powerful tool for domestication research.
• To demonstrate how simulation modeling can enhance understanding of domestication processes.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing emerging methodologies in statistics and population genetics.
• Applying explicit modeling approaches to analyze complex datasets.
• Employing simulation modeling to infer past domestication processes.

Main Results:

• Modeling approaches provide a robust framework for analyzing complex domestication data.
• Explicit modeling mitigates implicit biases and facilitates integration of diverse data types.
• Simulation modeling is actively reshaping the understanding of domestication.

Conclusions:

• Explicit modeling is essential for overcoming challenges in domestication research.
• Simulation modeling offers novel insights into the evolutionary dynamics of domestication.
• Multidisciplinary approaches integrating modeling are key to advancing domestication science.