Humans domesticated the rock pigeon somewhere in the region of 10,000 years ago, the time when Neolithic communities in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys began to grow cereals and raise sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. Their image features on ancient Mesopotamian tablets, Sumerian temples, and Egyptian hieroglyphs. Easily captured and easy to raise, these birds were a popular husbandry choice and, from the Fertile Crescent, spread with human communities across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Domestic pigeons reached Britain with the Romans, who bred them for food and wrote about them in agricultural and medicinal manuals. 

Throughout history people have fancied pigeons for food, pharmaceuticals, and hobby breeding.