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Where Did Mini Pigs Come From?
Pigs-Domestication History
The domestication history of pigs (Sus scrofa) is a bit of an archaeological puzzle, in part because of the nature of the wild boar that our modern pigs are descended from. Several species of wild hog exist in the world today, such as the warthog (Phacochoreus africanus), the pygmy hog (Porcula salvania), and the pig-deer (Babyrousa babyrussa); but of all the suid forms, only Sus scrofa (wild boar) was domesticated.
That took place independently about 9,000-10,000 years ago in two locations: eastern Anatolia and central China. After that initial domestication, pigs accompanied early farmers as they spread out of Anatolia to Europe, and out of central China to the hinterlands.
Distinguishing Domestic and Wild Pigs
It must be said that it is not easy to distinguish between wild and domestic animals in the archaeological record. Since the early 20th century, researchers have segregated pigs based on the size of their tusks (lower M3): wild boars typically have broader and longer tusks then domestic ones. Overall body size (particularly measures of astralagi, humeri and scapulae) has been commonly used since the mid-twentieth century. But wild boar body size alters with climate: hotter, drier climates mean smaller pigs, not necessarily less wild ones. And there are notable variations in body size and tusk size, among both wild and domestic pig populations even today.
Wild pigs (also known as wild hogs, wild boar, or feral swine) are an Old World species and are not native to the Americas. The first wild pigs in the United States originated solely from domestic stock brought to North America by early European explorers and settlers. Many years later, Eurasian wild boar were introduced into parts of the United States for hunting purposes. In areas where domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boar were found together in the wild, interbreeding occurred. Today, many hybrid populations exist throughout the wild pig’s range.
Other methods used by researchers include population demography--the theory is that pigs kept in captivity would have been slaughtered at younger ages as a management strategy, and that can be reflected in the ages of the pigs in an archaeological assemblage.
The study of Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH) measures the growth rings in tooth enamel: domestic animals are more likely to experience stress episodes in diet and those stresses are reflected in their teeth. Isotope analysis and toothwear can also give clues to the diet of a particular set of animals, because domestic animals are more likely to have had grain in their diets).
Most conclusive is genetic data, which can give indications of ancient lineages.
See Rowley-Conwy and colleagues (2012) for a detailed description of the benefits and pitfalls of each of these methods. In the end, all a researcher can do is look at all of these available characteristics and make her best judgment.
Independent Domestication Events
Despite the difficulties, most scholars are agreed that there were two separate domestication events from geographically separated versions of the wild boar (Sus scrofa). Evidence for both locations suggest that the process began with local hunter-gatherers hunting wild boars, then over a period of time began managing them, and then purposefully or unconsciously keeping those animals with smaller brains and bodies and sweeter dispositions.
In southwest Asia, pigs were part of a suite of plants and animals that were developed in the upper reaches of the Euphrates river about 10,000 years ago. The earliest domestic pigs in Anatolia are found in the same sites as domestic cattle, in what is today southwestern Turkey, about 7500 calendar years ago BC (cal BC), during the late Early PrePottery Neolithic B period.
In China, the earlist domesticated pigs date to 6600 cal BC, at the Neolithic Jiahu site in east central China between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and associated with the Cishan/Peiligang culture: in Jiahu's earlier layers, wild boars are in evidence. A human was buried with two pigs at the site of Xinglongwa about 5500 BC.
The process of domestication was much faster in China, where pigs were kept in enclosures by the Neolithic period; in Europe domestic pigs were allowed to roam freely in forests up through the late Middle Ages.
Pigs into Europe
Beginning about 7,000 years ago, central Asian people brought animals and plants into Europe with them, along at least two paths. The people who brought the animals and plants into Europe are known collectively as the Linearbandkeramik (or LBK) culture.
After decades of research and debate over whether Mesolithic hunters in Europe had developed domestic pigs prior to the LBK migration, evidence is pretty conclusive today that there was a mixed and complex process of pig domestication in Europe, consisting of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, LBK farmers, feral European pigs and domestic pigs of southwest Asian origins.
It appears that soon after the arrival of LBK pigs in Europe, they interbred with the local wild boar. This process, known as retrogression (meaning successful breeding of domesticated and wild animals), produced the European domestic pig, which then spread out from Europe, and, in many places replacing the domesticated Near Eastern swine.
Potbellied Pigs in the United States
Vietnamese Potbelly pigs are a dwarf swine breed which were developed in the 1960's from the breed of Vietnam. They were originally brought into Sweden and Canada and have since moved into a number of countries.
Many years ago, when Canadian Keith Connell imported the first potbellied pigs into North America, he had no idea what he had started. Originally, he intended to supply the pigs to zoos, but a private buyer interested in the pigs as pets started the porcine pets on their way to worldwide distribution and fame. In 1986, when the first potbellies were sold into the U.S., their market price ran well into the thousands of dollars. Recently, as the breeder market became satisfied, the price of pets has come down to match that of pedigreed dogs and cats, making them an affordable alternative to canine and feline pets.
These pigs came to the United States from Canada. The original Canadian pigs averaged 250 lbs. and, therefore, were miniature pigs when compared to domestic swine that weigh 600-1500 lb. Full grown potbellied pigs weigh an average of 80-150 lb. with some reaching 200 lb. or more; they average 3-ft. long and 15-inches tall. Full growth is not reached until about 5 years of age. Colors range from solid black to solid white, with a variety of spots in between. The description of pigs has changed over the years with a market for "small" pigs. Small and pig shouldn't be used in the same sentence, yet mini pig has become an accepted term used to differentiate between the farm sized type pigs and the smaller breeds typically seen as pets. Teacup, Micro, Micro Mini, Pocket Pig, Nano, Dandie, Pixie, Designer Pig, all of these are just words. NONE are breeds of pigs. The pigs we see now are mixed breeds. The original breeding stock is no longer around and honestly? None of us know the heritage of our "mini pig(s)" now. They have been cross bred, inbred, mixed with other breeds, plagued with genetic anomalies that are purposely bred for, etc. NO ONE can tell you how big your pig will be. To an extent, you can control the weight, but you cannot control the overall size, that is predetermined by genetics. Attempting to stunt your pigs growth by limiting the amount of feed is not only a horrible way to treat your pig, but can also lead to aggression, bone and organ deformities, immune problems, unthriftiness in general along with a host of other problems. Click here to read more about why smaller doesn't mean better.
As many of you know, adding a pig to the family is a learning process and there is always new challenges and better ways to handle situations, so there is always a learning curve. We here at Mini Pig Info do not know it all, we have collaborated with many many individuals to create what is available to you today on our website and social media platforms. Lots of experience, veterinary degrees, vet tech's, medical degrees, new pig parents, pig rescue folks, everybody. With each picture you take and allow us to use, there is usually a story that goes with it. You have frozen that particular moment in time because it was important to you. THAT is how history is created.
Naturally, with animals that haven't been known as companion pets for long, there comes a phase of "I want one". This occurs daily with regards to pigs. This is, in part, due to the misguided and misinformed people who chose to do little research to determine if they would make an appropriate pig parent, but some do research and aren't able to find credible info about pigs in homes and assume they're like dogs or cats. This couldn't be further from the truth. This is one of the main reasons why we created this website, to have accurate and credible information in one spot. Resources for you to become the best pig parent you can be. The website is ever changing and will constantly change as new events and/or diseases, methods and treatments are brought to our attention. Now that the demand for pigs is down and there are hundreds, if not thousands available for adoption, we hope that it will open the eyes of the people who are still buying the "teacup" or "micro" pig lie. Click here to read more about actual breeds of pigs. Click here to learn more about the teacup pig myth. If you really want to know what having a pig in the home is like, click here to live a day in the life of a pig parent.
Sources:
This article is part of the About.com Guide to the History of Animal Domestication, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology
Arbuckle BS. 2013. The late adoption of cattle and pig husbandry in Neolithic Central Turkey. Journal of Archaeological Science 40(4):1805-1815, as well as the Oklahoma Universities breeds of livestock article.
Cucchi T, Fujita M, and Dobney K. 2009. New insights into pig taxonomy, domestication and human dispersal in Island South East Asia: molar shape analysis of Sus remains from Niah Caves, Sarawak. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 19(4):508-530.
Cucchi T, Hulme-Beaman A, Yuan J, and Dobney K. 2011. Early Neolithic pig domestication at Jiahu, Henan Province, China: clues from molar shape analyses using geometric morphometric approaches. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(1):11-22.
Evin A, Cucchi T, Cardini A, Strand Vidarsdottir U, Larson G, and Dobney K. 2013. The long and winding road: identifying pig domestication through molar size and shape.Journal of Archaeological Science 40(1):735-743.
Fang, Meiying, et al. 2009 Contrasting Mode of Evolution at a Coat Color Locus in Wild and Domestic Pigs. PLoS Genetics 5(1):e1000341.
Groenen MAM. 2016. A decade of pig genome sequencing: a window on pig domestication and evolution. Genetics Selection Evolution 48(1):1-9.
Krause-Kyora B, Makarewicz C, Evin A, Girdland Flink L, Dobney K, Larson G, Hartz S, Schreiber S, Von Carnap-Bornheim C, Von Wurmb-Schwark N et al. 2013. Use of domestic pigs by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in northwestern Europe. Nature Communications 4(2348).
Larson G, Liu R, Zhao X, Yuan J, Fuller D, Barton L, Dobney K, Fan Q, Gu Z, Liu X-H et al. 2010. Patterns of East Asian pig domestication, migration, and turnover revealed by modern and ancient DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences107(17):7686-7691.
Rowley-Conwy P, Albarella U, and Dobney K. 2012. Distinguishing Wild Boar from Domestic Pigs in Prehistory: A Review of Approaches and Recent Results. Journal of World Prehistory 25:1-44.
Wang H, Martin L, Hu S, and Wang W. 2012. Pig domestication and husbandry practices in the middle Neolithic of the Wei River Valley, northwest China: evidence from linear enamel hypoplasia. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(12):3662-3670.
That took place independently about 9,000-10,000 years ago in two locations: eastern Anatolia and central China. After that initial domestication, pigs accompanied early farmers as they spread out of Anatolia to Europe, and out of central China to the hinterlands.
Distinguishing Domestic and Wild Pigs
It must be said that it is not easy to distinguish between wild and domestic animals in the archaeological record. Since the early 20th century, researchers have segregated pigs based on the size of their tusks (lower M3): wild boars typically have broader and longer tusks then domestic ones. Overall body size (particularly measures of astralagi, humeri and scapulae) has been commonly used since the mid-twentieth century. But wild boar body size alters with climate: hotter, drier climates mean smaller pigs, not necessarily less wild ones. And there are notable variations in body size and tusk size, among both wild and domestic pig populations even today.
Wild pigs (also known as wild hogs, wild boar, or feral swine) are an Old World species and are not native to the Americas. The first wild pigs in the United States originated solely from domestic stock brought to North America by early European explorers and settlers. Many years later, Eurasian wild boar were introduced into parts of the United States for hunting purposes. In areas where domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boar were found together in the wild, interbreeding occurred. Today, many hybrid populations exist throughout the wild pig’s range.
Other methods used by researchers include population demography--the theory is that pigs kept in captivity would have been slaughtered at younger ages as a management strategy, and that can be reflected in the ages of the pigs in an archaeological assemblage.
The study of Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH) measures the growth rings in tooth enamel: domestic animals are more likely to experience stress episodes in diet and those stresses are reflected in their teeth. Isotope analysis and toothwear can also give clues to the diet of a particular set of animals, because domestic animals are more likely to have had grain in their diets).
Most conclusive is genetic data, which can give indications of ancient lineages.
See Rowley-Conwy and colleagues (2012) for a detailed description of the benefits and pitfalls of each of these methods. In the end, all a researcher can do is look at all of these available characteristics and make her best judgment.
Independent Domestication Events
Despite the difficulties, most scholars are agreed that there were two separate domestication events from geographically separated versions of the wild boar (Sus scrofa). Evidence for both locations suggest that the process began with local hunter-gatherers hunting wild boars, then over a period of time began managing them, and then purposefully or unconsciously keeping those animals with smaller brains and bodies and sweeter dispositions.
In southwest Asia, pigs were part of a suite of plants and animals that were developed in the upper reaches of the Euphrates river about 10,000 years ago. The earliest domestic pigs in Anatolia are found in the same sites as domestic cattle, in what is today southwestern Turkey, about 7500 calendar years ago BC (cal BC), during the late Early PrePottery Neolithic B period.
In China, the earlist domesticated pigs date to 6600 cal BC, at the Neolithic Jiahu site in east central China between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and associated with the Cishan/Peiligang culture: in Jiahu's earlier layers, wild boars are in evidence. A human was buried with two pigs at the site of Xinglongwa about 5500 BC.
The process of domestication was much faster in China, where pigs were kept in enclosures by the Neolithic period; in Europe domestic pigs were allowed to roam freely in forests up through the late Middle Ages.
Pigs into Europe
Beginning about 7,000 years ago, central Asian people brought animals and plants into Europe with them, along at least two paths. The people who brought the animals and plants into Europe are known collectively as the Linearbandkeramik (or LBK) culture.
After decades of research and debate over whether Mesolithic hunters in Europe had developed domestic pigs prior to the LBK migration, evidence is pretty conclusive today that there was a mixed and complex process of pig domestication in Europe, consisting of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, LBK farmers, feral European pigs and domestic pigs of southwest Asian origins.
It appears that soon after the arrival of LBK pigs in Europe, they interbred with the local wild boar. This process, known as retrogression (meaning successful breeding of domesticated and wild animals), produced the European domestic pig, which then spread out from Europe, and, in many places replacing the domesticated Near Eastern swine.
Potbellied Pigs in the United States
Vietnamese Potbelly pigs are a dwarf swine breed which were developed in the 1960's from the breed of Vietnam. They were originally brought into Sweden and Canada and have since moved into a number of countries.
Many years ago, when Canadian Keith Connell imported the first potbellied pigs into North America, he had no idea what he had started. Originally, he intended to supply the pigs to zoos, but a private buyer interested in the pigs as pets started the porcine pets on their way to worldwide distribution and fame. In 1986, when the first potbellies were sold into the U.S., their market price ran well into the thousands of dollars. Recently, as the breeder market became satisfied, the price of pets has come down to match that of pedigreed dogs and cats, making them an affordable alternative to canine and feline pets.
These pigs came to the United States from Canada. The original Canadian pigs averaged 250 lbs. and, therefore, were miniature pigs when compared to domestic swine that weigh 600-1500 lb. Full grown potbellied pigs weigh an average of 80-150 lb. with some reaching 200 lb. or more; they average 3-ft. long and 15-inches tall. Full growth is not reached until about 5 years of age. Colors range from solid black to solid white, with a variety of spots in between. The description of pigs has changed over the years with a market for "small" pigs. Small and pig shouldn't be used in the same sentence, yet mini pig has become an accepted term used to differentiate between the farm sized type pigs and the smaller breeds typically seen as pets. Teacup, Micro, Micro Mini, Pocket Pig, Nano, Dandie, Pixie, Designer Pig, all of these are just words. NONE are breeds of pigs. The pigs we see now are mixed breeds. The original breeding stock is no longer around and honestly? None of us know the heritage of our "mini pig(s)" now. They have been cross bred, inbred, mixed with other breeds, plagued with genetic anomalies that are purposely bred for, etc. NO ONE can tell you how big your pig will be. To an extent, you can control the weight, but you cannot control the overall size, that is predetermined by genetics. Attempting to stunt your pigs growth by limiting the amount of feed is not only a horrible way to treat your pig, but can also lead to aggression, bone and organ deformities, immune problems, unthriftiness in general along with a host of other problems. Click here to read more about why smaller doesn't mean better.
As many of you know, adding a pig to the family is a learning process and there is always new challenges and better ways to handle situations, so there is always a learning curve. We here at Mini Pig Info do not know it all, we have collaborated with many many individuals to create what is available to you today on our website and social media platforms. Lots of experience, veterinary degrees, vet tech's, medical degrees, new pig parents, pig rescue folks, everybody. With each picture you take and allow us to use, there is usually a story that goes with it. You have frozen that particular moment in time because it was important to you. THAT is how history is created.
Naturally, with animals that haven't been known as companion pets for long, there comes a phase of "I want one". This occurs daily with regards to pigs. This is, in part, due to the misguided and misinformed people who chose to do little research to determine if they would make an appropriate pig parent, but some do research and aren't able to find credible info about pigs in homes and assume they're like dogs or cats. This couldn't be further from the truth. This is one of the main reasons why we created this website, to have accurate and credible information in one spot. Resources for you to become the best pig parent you can be. The website is ever changing and will constantly change as new events and/or diseases, methods and treatments are brought to our attention. Now that the demand for pigs is down and there are hundreds, if not thousands available for adoption, we hope that it will open the eyes of the people who are still buying the "teacup" or "micro" pig lie. Click here to read more about actual breeds of pigs. Click here to learn more about the teacup pig myth. If you really want to know what having a pig in the home is like, click here to live a day in the life of a pig parent.
Sources:
This article is part of the About.com Guide to the History of Animal Domestication, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology
Arbuckle BS. 2013. The late adoption of cattle and pig husbandry in Neolithic Central Turkey. Journal of Archaeological Science 40(4):1805-1815, as well as the Oklahoma Universities breeds of livestock article.
Cucchi T, Fujita M, and Dobney K. 2009. New insights into pig taxonomy, domestication and human dispersal in Island South East Asia: molar shape analysis of Sus remains from Niah Caves, Sarawak. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 19(4):508-530.
Cucchi T, Hulme-Beaman A, Yuan J, and Dobney K. 2011. Early Neolithic pig domestication at Jiahu, Henan Province, China: clues from molar shape analyses using geometric morphometric approaches. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(1):11-22.
Evin A, Cucchi T, Cardini A, Strand Vidarsdottir U, Larson G, and Dobney K. 2013. The long and winding road: identifying pig domestication through molar size and shape.Journal of Archaeological Science 40(1):735-743.
Fang, Meiying, et al. 2009 Contrasting Mode of Evolution at a Coat Color Locus in Wild and Domestic Pigs. PLoS Genetics 5(1):e1000341.
Groenen MAM. 2016. A decade of pig genome sequencing: a window on pig domestication and evolution. Genetics Selection Evolution 48(1):1-9.
Krause-Kyora B, Makarewicz C, Evin A, Girdland Flink L, Dobney K, Larson G, Hartz S, Schreiber S, Von Carnap-Bornheim C, Von Wurmb-Schwark N et al. 2013. Use of domestic pigs by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in northwestern Europe. Nature Communications 4(2348).
Larson G, Liu R, Zhao X, Yuan J, Fuller D, Barton L, Dobney K, Fan Q, Gu Z, Liu X-H et al. 2010. Patterns of East Asian pig domestication, migration, and turnover revealed by modern and ancient DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences107(17):7686-7691.
Rowley-Conwy P, Albarella U, and Dobney K. 2012. Distinguishing Wild Boar from Domestic Pigs in Prehistory: A Review of Approaches and Recent Results. Journal of World Prehistory 25:1-44.
Wang H, Martin L, Hu S, and Wang W. 2012. Pig domestication and husbandry practices in the middle Neolithic of the Wei River Valley, northwest China: evidence from linear enamel hypoplasia. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(12):3662-3670.