Animals Are Evolving Along Two Opposite Paths For One Major Reason

While domestic animals gradually became larger over the last 1,000 years, wild animal body sizes shrank. A new study conducted in Mediterranean France identifies one clear common denominator driving these opposing changes: us.

Humans are a major driving force of evolution on Earth, and this large new investigation led by University of Montpellier archaeologist Cyprien Mureau provides a stark example.

Using over 81,000 physical measurements of remains collected from 311 archaeological sites, Mureau and colleagues found domestic animals such as chicken and cattle increased in size over the last millennium, while wild animals, like foxes and deer, got smaller.

Mureau and team also modeled environmental factors across 8,000 years, including climate, vegetation, and human land use. They fo