OXFORD, ENGLAND—Archaeologist Evan Irving-Pease is investigating the domestication of rabbits, according to a Science News report. He and his colleagues tried to trace the origins of a tale alleging that Christian monks in Southern France first tamed the creatures in A.D. 600, after Pope Gregory issued a proclamation stating that fetal rabbits, known as laurices, were fish, and could therefore be eaten during Lent, a time when meat consumption is traditionally restricted. Pease says there’s no evidence to back the story, and that DNA evidence suggests that the history of rabbit domestication does not have a distinct beginning. The scientists will turn to ancient rabbit bones for more information. For more, go to “The Rabbit Farms of Teotihuacán.”
