Although it is not known when the study of biology originated, early humans must have had some knowledge of the animals and plants around them. Human survival depended upon the accurate recognition of nonpoisonous food plants and upon an understanding of the habits of dangerous predators. Archaeological records indicate that even before the development of civilization, humans had domesticated virtually all the amenable animals available to them and had developed an agricultural system sufficiently stable and efficient to satisfy the needs of large numbers of people living together in communities. It is clear, therefore, that much of the history of biology predates the time at which humankind began to write and to keep records.
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