Domestication of the dog A Journey Through Time

The domestication of the dog is a fascinating story that spans thousands of years. The most widely accepted theory is that dogs were domesticated from gray wolves between 15,000 to 30,000 years ago.

The process of domestication likely began in multiple regions, including Asia, Europe, and North America. This is supported by genetic studies that show a high degree of genetic diversity among modern dog breeds.

At first, humans and wolves interacted primarily for food, with wolves scavenging for scraps and humans hunting them for meat. Over time, certain wolves adapted to living near humans and began to thrive in this new environment.

These early dogs were likely small to medium in size and had a more wolf-like appearance. They were likely used for tasks such as hunting and guarding, and were valued for their skills and loyalty.

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as such, and it's a fitting description. Human society has to accept the animal in question.

To meet humans, dog ancestors needed to be in the same location as humans. All around the globe, in fact, dog ancestors were present.

Domestication has biological changes that occur in the animal to fit the requirements of humans.

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The history of dog domestication is a fascinating story that spans thousands of years. Dogs were the first domesticated species, entering into a domestic relationship with humans during the Pleistocene era.

Around 15,000 years ago, humans began to form long-term associations with wolves, which eventually led to the domestication of dogs. This process is believed to have started in one or several wolf populations in Europe, the high Arctic, or eastern Asia.

The earliest dog remains were discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, and were dated to 14,223 years ago. This suggests that in Western Europe, there were morphologically and genetically "modern" dogs in existence around 14,500 years ago.

Dogs were initially used for hunting and protection, and in turn, humans provided them with food. This mutually beneficial system is known as commensal domestication.

The first meeting between humans and dogs is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for a long time. The time range for this event is estimated to be between 32,000 years ago and 10,000 years ago.

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Research suggests that dogs may have originated in Eastern Eurasia, where grey wolves were domesticated and evolved into primitive dogs. These early dogs were used for hunting and protection.

Early humans and wolves were both pack hunters, which made it easier for them to understand each other. This shared social and behavioral signals likely played a significant role in their initial meeting.

The process of domestication is still not fully understood, and some scientists argue that the term "domestication" may not be suitable for dogs. They propose that dogs can be socialized to live among humans or remain unsocialized, much like wild wolves.

In fact, there are cases where wild wolves have approached humans in remote areas, attempting to initiate play and form companionship. One notable example is Romeo, a gentle black wolf that formed relationships with people and dogs in Juneau, Alaska.

Here's a brief overview of the different theories on the origin of dogs:

This table highlights the different theories on the origin of dogs, but it's worth noting that the East Asian origin story is currently the most widely accepted theory.

The Bonn-Oberkassel discovery is a significant find in the history of dog domestication. It's located in Germany and dates back to 14,223 years before present (YBP).

In 1914, two human skeletons were discovered with a wolf mandible and other animal bones. The mandible was initially recorded as belonging to a wolf, but later reclassified as a domesticated dog's.

The mitochondrial DNA sequence of the mandible was matched to Canis familiaris, a dog, and falls within mDNA haplogroup C of dogs. This confirms that the remains belong to a domesticated dog.

The humans were a man aged 40 years and a woman aged 25 years, and they were buried with the dog. The dog had been sprayed with red hematite powder, just like the humans.

A pathology study suggests that the dog died young, between 19 and 23 weeks, after suffering from canine distemper.

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The domestication of dogs is a complex and still somewhat mysterious process that has been debated by scientists for decades. Genetic studies suggest that dogs were domesticated from wolves over 25,000 years ago in either Europe, the high Arctic, or eastern Asia.

One theory is that dogs were domesticated through a process called commensalism, where wolves began to follow human hunter-gatherer groups and scavenge their leftovers. This theory suggests that the first domesticated animal was a wolf that had become accustomed to living near humans and had adapted to their presence.

The migratory wolves theory proposes that some wolves followed great reindeer herds, eliminating the weak and sick animals and thereby improving the herd's overall health. This theory suggests that these wolves may have eventually formed a partnership with humans, learning their techniques and adapting to their lifestyle.

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Around 25,000 years ago, a significant event in dog domestication history took place. Genetic studies suggest a domestication process commencing over 25,000 YBP, in one or several wolf populations in either Europe, the high Arctic, or eastern Asia.

The exact timing and location of dog domestication is still a topic of debate. There is clear evidence that dogs were derived from grey wolves during the initial phases of domestication.

The wolf population(s) that were involved are likely to be extinct. Despite numerous genetic studies of both modern dogs and ancient dog remains, there is no firm consensus regarding either the timing or location(s) of domestication.

Around 10,000 YBP agriculture was developed resulting in a sedentary lifestyle. This marked a significant shift in human history and had a profound impact on the course of early human history and the development of civilization.

The domestication of dogs may have allowed them to have a profound influence on the course of early human history.

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Dogs have evolved to be cognitively more similar to humans than we are to our closest genetic relatives. This is known as psychological convergence.

Studies have shown that dogs can follow the human pointing gesture, discriminate the emotional expressions of human faces, and that most people can tell from a bark whether a dog is alone, being approached by a stranger, playing, or being aggressive.

The ability of dogs to read human social and communicative behavior is more flexible and possibly more human-like than that of other animals more closely related to humans phylogenetically.

Dogs have independently evolved specialized skills for reading human social and communicative behavior, which raises the possibility that convergent evolution has occurred between dogs and humans.

Extended eye contact between dogs and their owners increases oxytocin levels in both the dog and its owner, which suggests that this effect has supported the coevolution of human-dog bonding.

The concept of friendship has ancient origins, but it may have been enhanced through the inter-species relationship between humans and dogs, giving a survival advantage.

Cooperation among humans' closest genetic relative, chimpanzees, is limited to occasional hunting episodes or the persecution of a competitor for personal advantage, which had to be tempered if humans were to become domesticated.

Wolves are among the most gregarious and cooperative of animals on the planet, and their ability to cooperate in well-coordinated drives to hunt prey, carry items too heavy for an individual, and provision not only their own young but also the other pack members is rivaled only by that of human societies.

Social sharing within families may be a trait that early humans learned from wolves, and with wolves digging dens long before humans constructed huts, it is not clear who domesticated whom.

Dogs were the only animal to be domesticated by mobile hunter-gatherers. This was likely due to their ability to coexist with humans in a mutually beneficial way.

Humans and wolves were both persistent pack hunters of large prey, competing in overlapping territory. They were also both capable of killing each other.

One theory is that humans may have domesticated wolves by allowing them to scavenge carcasses when there was abundant game. This would have been a way for humans to utilize the wolves' ability to survive on a protein-based diet.

High protein consumption in humans can lead to illness, whereas wolves can survive on a protein-based diet for months. This is because humans are primates with a limited liver capacity to metabolize protein.

During the harsh winters of the Last Glacial Maximum, humans may have relied on fat and grease as a food source. This is because plant foods would not have been available, and game meat would have been devoid of fat.

The limbs and crania of game animals contain fat deposits, and limb bones contain fatty oils. This would have provided humans with a valuable source of fat and oils during times of scarcity.

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Dogs have been used as a hunting technology for thousands of years, with evidence of their use dating back to 8,000 years before present (YBP) in the form of petroglyph rock art in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

These early depictions show dogs participating in hunting scenes, some even being controlled on a leash. This suggests that humans and dogs formed a hunting partnership that laid the foundation for dog domestication.

The transition from the Late Pleistocene to the early Holocene brought about significant changes in the environment, including warmer, wetter conditions and the replacement of open habitats with forests. As a result, hunting dogs became an essential tool for hunters in these new environments.

Dogs' unique abilities, such as chasing, tracking, sniffing out, and holding prey, made them invaluable in forests where human senses and location skills are less effective. This is still true today, with dogs being used for hunting in forests around the world.