In anthropology, animal husbandry refers to the cultural, economic, and social practices of domesticating, breeding, and caring for animals, studied as part of human adaptation, subsistence, and material culture. It is not just a technical activity but a deeply embedded cultural system that shapes identities, economies, and environments.

🌍 Definition

• Animal Husbandry: The controlled breeding, raising, and management of domesticated animals for food, labor, trade, or ritual.
• Scope: Includes livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs), draft animals (horses, oxen, camels), and symbolic/ritual animals (dogs, birds).

🔑 Anthropological Contexts

• Subsistence Systems:
  • Pastoralism: Herding societies (e.g., Maasai, Mongols) rely on livestock for milk, meat, and trade.
  • Mixed Farming: Integration of crops and animals (e.g., Neolithic villages).
• Domestication Studies:
  • Archaeologists trace domestication through bones, DNA, and artifacts (e.g., cattle in the Fertile Crescent, llamas in the Andes).
• Social Organization:
  • Herd ownership and inheritance often structure kinship and wealth.
  • Animal husbandry can reinforce gender roles (men as herders, women as milk processors).
• Symbolism & Ritual:
  • Animals used in sacrifice, feasting, and status display.
  • Totemic associations link clans to specific animals.
• Colonial & Industrial Contexts:
  • European colonization reshaped indigenous animal economies (e.g., introduction of horses to the Americas).
  • Industrial animal husbandry transformed global food systems.

📚 Importance in Anthropology

• Human–Animal Relations: Shows how domestication reshaped human societies and environments.
• Economic Systems: Livestock as wealth, trade goods, and social capital.
• Cultural Identity: Animal husbandry practices often define ethnic and regional identities.
• Environmental Adaptation: Herding strategies reflect adaptation to deserts, grasslands, and mountains.

In short: Animal husbandry in anthropology is the study of how humans domesticate and manage animals, revealing deep connections between subsistence, identity, ritual, and material culture.