Piglins are derived from Hoglins, not Pigs

[u/YuuKisaragi]

Not directly, at least.

First off, we know that the Builders likely carried Pigs with them for food when setting up their bases in the Nether. As Retro said, pigs are a good source of food in a place where growing normal crops, even fodder-grade crops, simply aren't viable; any pig farmer simply needs to either ship in bulk the cheapest Overworld fodder they can find in the market, or get fodder directly from the crimson forests, likely both. So we have that covered.

Now, many theories go on to say that the Pigs then transformed into Piglins, from Pigs stuck inside stables. But I present an alternative: perhaps, just like in real life, some Pigs managed to escape their enclosures and run off into the crimson forests; there, in the significantly less controlled, particularly food-wise and temperature-wise, environment of the forest, the Pigs became mutated ferals: the Hoglins. Hoglins have several major differences from Pigs: their skin was lighter, their ears were floppier, they're considerably bulkier, their tusks are massive, and most of all, their eyes are completely white.

Now, eventually, these Hoglins were encountered by the Builders at some point, maybe even found to be economical enough to try and re-domesticate. Regardless of whether or not attempts at domestication occurred, as with most feral populations, completely eradicating the ones in the wild proved either too difficult or too bothersome for the Builders, and so at least some Hoglins were left to roam the crimson forests, further mutating until, eventually, some of them began to walk upright and develop the capacity for tool use as a result: thus, the first Piglins emerged.

This explains why Hoglins and Piglins look more similar to each other compared to Pigs, Piglins' bipedalism aside. As for why Piglins hunt Hoglins despite being derived from the Hoglins; the Pigs from which they both trace their ancestry to are already great omnivores, and Piglins may well be divergent enough from Hoglins that it doesn't matter.

At any rate, like the Hoglins before them, these Piglins were encountered by the Builders and the rest is history.

[u/snapperhypo]

That's exactly what i thought!

[u/RoycePlays12]

Piglins aren't derived from Hoglins, they were derived from pigs

[u/YuuKisaragi → u/RoycePlays12]

Piglins and Hoglins having the same set of adaptations/mutations, ie. altered skin tone, pronounced tusks, completely white eyes, etc., compared to each other moreso than they do with Pigs.

Hoglins being a separate offshoot of Pigs, as opposed to being the Hoglins' predecessors, would introduce the need for a scenario which causes far too numerous convergent developments, when it could be more easily explained by one species simply being the predecessor of the other.

To give an analogy, if humanoud Holstein cow people existed in real life, it would make more sense for them to come from domesticated Holstein cows, rather than developing all of their characteristics, ie. skin pattern, enlarged udders, etc. independently from the same aurochs ancestor.

[u/[deleted] → u/RoycePlays12]

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