when did domestication begin?

In this post I am going to discuss a more historical aspect to domestication after reading a couple of papers debating when domestication first occurred.  The oldest evidence for agriculture, a few rye grains, has been found in Syria, which is in the 'Fertile Crescent' where agriculture is thought to have begun (as shown on map below).

During the last ice age humans existed as part of sparse populations, belonging to hunter gatherer societies.  As the climate became milder towards the end of the ice age, they built  permanent houses and made tools, this was an important step towards more modern settlements.  However, an abrupt cooling event lasting 1300 years occurred, called the Younger Dryas happened between 12,900 and 11,600 years ago.  Pollen records from within the Fertile Crescent show that a cooling of the climate was felt in this area.    

Both Balter 2010 and Pringle 1998 discuss the arguments surrounding the beginnings of domestication.  One hypothesis, as believed by Bar-Yosef is that the cold period brought on by the Younger Dryas caused domestication, to provide a more stable food source so humans had a sufficient amount to eat.  There is some evidence supporting this, rye grains have been found in Abu Hureyra settlement in Syria dating back to 13000 years ago around the beginning of the Younger Dryas.     

The other hypothesis, opposing this is that there was actually a return to a more mobile lifestyle during the Younger Dryas, meaning a return to hunter gatherer styles of society.  They argue that it was not until warming began after the Younger Dryas that domestication occurred, and the evidence found is not strong enough to definitely suggest crop cultivation.  Wilcox and Rosen are supporters of this hypothesis, Wilcox dismisses the evidence found in Abu Hureyra as no other evidence has been found in other locations.  Rosen on the other hand believes that it is more likely that humans domesticated once the Holocene had begun and warmer temperatures had returned as populations will have grown putting pressure on resources leading to domestication.  

Personally, after reading the two articles and looking at the varying viewpoints I agree with the latter hypothesis.  This is because I believe a return to colder climates would have caused human populations to return to hunting as they did throughout the last ice age rather than domesticate.  Also, populations are likely to have been smaller during the cold period, meaning there would be less population pressure to domesticate.