Evolution of Pig
Pig domestication holds immense importance in the realms of human history and agriculture. The domestication of pigs, Sus scrofa domesticus, has deeply impacted human societies across the globe, contributing to food security, agricultural practices, and cultural diversity. The evolutionary journey and geographical dissemination of pig domestication, with a specific focus on the Asian and European lineages will be discussed in this section. Sus scrofa domesticus belongs to a subfamily of Suidae, a widespread pig species group ofCetartiodactyla that originated in the Oligocene almost 20 million years ago. The domestic pig, Sus scrofa domesticus, traces its lineage back to the wild boar, Sus scrofa, which inhabited forests and grasslands across Europe and Asia. Genetic studies have indicated that pig domestication occurred independently in different regions, with distinct Asian and European lineages. Sus scrofa originated on the island south-east Asia during the early Pliocene climatic fluctuations about 3–4 million years ago. The oldest diverging lineage of pigs found to date is of a wild boar population from the North of Sumatra that split from the Eurasian wild boars around 1.6–2.4 million years ago. Over the past one million years, Sus scrofa spread into and colonized almost the entire Eurasian continent. Pigs were domesticated in at least two locations: Anatolia (Near East) and Asia. Pig domestication in Anatolia has been well documented, indicating domestication ∼ 10000 years ago based on archaeological evidence while pig domestication in Asia happened at least 8000 years ago based on zooarchaeological analyses from middle China.
List of Pig related species
- Sus scrofa cristatus
- Sus scrofa domesticus
- Sus verrucosus
- Sus ahoenobarbus
- Sus ahoenobarbus
- Sus barbatus
- Sus cebifrons
- Sus celebensis
- Sus oliveri
- Sus philippensis
- Phacochoerus africanus
- Porcula salvania
- Hylochoerus meinertzhageni
- Potamochoerus porcus
- Babyrousa celebensis
Table 1. Related Species of Swine
Image | Genus | Living species |
 | Sus – pigs | Sus ahoenobarbus – Palawan bearded pig Sus barbatus – Bornean bearded pig Sus cebifrons – Visayan warty pig Sus celebensis – Sulawesi warty pig Sus oliveri – Mindoro warty pig Sus philippensis – Philippine warty pig Sus scrofa – wild boar Sus scrofa domesticus – domestic pig (sometimes treated as a full species, S. domestica) Sus verrucosus – Javan warty pig |
 | Porcula | Porcula salvania – pygmy hog |
 | Hylochoerus | Hylochoerus meinertzhageni – giant forest hog |
 | Potamochoerus | Potamochoerus larvatus – bushpig Potamochoerus porcus – red river hog |
 | Phacochoerus – warthog | Phacochoerus africanus – common warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus – desert warthog |
 | Babyrousa – babirusa | Babyrousa babyrussa – Moluccan babirusa Babyrousa bolabatuensis – Bola Batu babirusa Babyrousa celebensis – North Sulawesi babirusa Babyrousa togeanensis – Togian babirusa |