The domestic pig (or in some areas hog) is normally given the scientific name Sus scrofa domestica, though some taxonomists use the term S. domestica, reserving S. scrofa for the wild boar.
Pigs are believed to have been domesticated from wild boar as early as 7000 BCE in the Near East and, separately, in China. DNA evidence from sub-fossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs in Europe shows that the first domestic pigs there had been brought from the Near East. It appears that this stimulated the domestication of European wild boar, effectively forming a third domestication event – the Near Eastern genes later died out in European pigs, and domesticated European pigs were then exported in turn to the ancient Near East.
The adaptable nature and omnivorous diet of the wild boar allowed early humans to domesticate it much earlier than many other forms of livestock, such as cattle. Pigs were mostly used for food, but early civilizations also used the pigs' hides for shields, bones for tools and weapons, and bristles for brushes. Pigs were brought to southeastern North America from Europe by De Soto and other early Spanish explorer. Escaped pigs became feral and were used by Native Americans as food.
Modern pigs are found across Europe, and extend into Asia as far as Indonesia and Japan . The distinction between wild and domestic animals is slight. Most domestic pigs usually have rather sparse hair covering on their skin, but the woolly coated breeds are known and some were popular in the past. Escaped domestic pigs have become feral in many parts of the world (for example, New Zealand) and have caused substantial environmental damage.