LogFAQs > #897140786

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Sort of as an aside and not necessarily as a justification for that sort of narrative trope, but in a few of the books I've read about animal domestication and the development of agriculture in general, it's pointed out that not every animal CAN be domesticated. Generally speaking, the two main factors of import is whether the breed in question has more of a predatory personality or a grazing lifestyle, and whether or not they take to pack or herd mentality or are more isolates. It's apparently extremely difficult to domesticate non-herd predators, which is part of why the cat is one of the only species of that nature we've ever managed it with - and even there, not entirely.

In other words, even given an entire world filled with animals, most of them would never be domesticated under any circumstances (and this is a large part of what hurt development in the Americas versus Eurasia and Africa - their potential stock of larger animals was much more limited, and most of them were unsuitable for long-term domestication). You don't just need people willing to attempt the domestication process, but you also need breeds that are specifically ready to be domesticated in the first place. So even in a fantasy world, you might never be able to have riding rhinos or triceratops that are actually plausible biologically.

I imagine over an exceptionally long span of time *most* intelligent animals can be domesticated to some degree, particularly in the case of mammals, provided that a culture is sufficiently motivated and possesses enough understanding to do so (ie, as a matter of selective breeding over a very long span of time -- after all, we've trained countless non-domesticated animals which shows at least *some* capacity for servitude). And, when you're building a world from the ground up, you can always introduce new species anyway... or modify existing ones. Like giving crows a third eye and having them function as carrier pigeons.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

All that being said, to be perfectly honest I always sort of find it annoying when writers try to distinguish unique breeds in their setting anyway. It's like, you're translating everything else into English, but choose to keep the breed name? If the people of your world have a large generally docile animal they breed for milk and meat, then just call it a cow (and not a "rothe", fuck you Faerun). If someone is drinking a fermented grain alcohol you can just call it "beer" or "ale" and I'll get it. At most, I'll happily tolerate if you feel the need to call a horse a "riding beast" or something generic, and I'll accept if you call tobacco "pipeweed" with a minimum of grumbles (and a few dirty looks at stoners who want to claim that hobbits are all hopped up on cannabis), but if you start referring to gnuforfles and brimdulthatch, I'm going to wipe my ass with your book.

So you mean if it's like 75% a horse, you'd rather they just call it a horse?
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