Facts about dogs…
FACTS ABOUT DOGS What Was the First Dog on Earth?
PREHISTORIC DOGS
The oldest known domestic dog was discovered in the Razboinichya Cave in the Altai Mountains of modern Siberia. It was a complete well-preserved skull.
In 2007 the animal was carbon-dated to have lived around 31,000 BC. And DNA testing revealed that even that skull was of an animal “more closely related to modern dogs than to wolves.” Which meant that the development of human-raised wolf dogs goes back long before that.
Now here’s where the numbers get really interesting.
If our wolf dogs of 33,000 years ago were still genetically closer to modern dogs than to their original wolf puppy ancestors, it could well mean that we first invited pure-blooded wolves into our wandering communities over 60,000 years ago.
Which is before Humankind underwent what paleo anthropologists call Behavioral Modernity. That magical moment when we had our “Great Leap Forward.”
When…
- Humankind discovered God (or God discovered us!). [1]
- And we created Language, Singing, Games, Cooking, the Creative Arts.
- And radically changed our basic Primate social structure.
Conclusion? Perhaps Humans and Wolves began our evolutionary journey together.
The discovery that dogs were Humankind’s companions thousands upon thousands of years earlier than we had believed changes things. I really like the idea that Wolves adopted Humans. They taught our Primate ancestors such un-primate traits as
- Pack loyalty
- The role of involved fatherhood [2]
- Pair-bonding — mating for life.
Look at it this way: I’d rather think of myself as a Wolf, not a Monkey. How about you, mon ami?
[1] The Bible doesn’t specify animals in the Bethlehem manger. Common beliefs are donkeys, oxen, cows and sheep. I like to think that a dog or two lay in the straw, loving, protecting. Job, for example, mentions in passing to have set out with the dogs of his flock (30:1). And Isaiah refers to both sheep dogs and guard dogs (56:10–11). And since “The shepherds came with their flocks of sheep to the stable to witness the birth of Jesus,” I’m sure there were watchful sheep dogs there.
[2] Our closest blood DNA-relatives are the Chimpanzees. Who are completely promiscuous, with no sense or knowledge of fatherhood or pair love and fidelity.
While Mating for Life is common in birds — from Chickadees and the aptly named Lovebirds to Ravens and Eagles — in mammals, it’s mostly known in the top predator species such as Wolves and Lions. And Humankind — at least in the most evolved of us, eh?
INTEGRAL RESEARCH: Here are the complete details of the Siberian canine discovery. You can see the National Library of Medicine article at: 33,000-Year-Old Incipient Dog from the Altai Mountains
RELATED RESEARCH: “Before the Razboinichya Cave discovery, the earliest known relationship between dogs and humans is revealed by the 1914 discovery of the Bonn–Oberkassel dog along the Rhine River in Germany. The dog was buried alongside two humans in…” See Human–canine bond to learn about the Bonn–Oberkassel dog.
TAGS: Brian Alan Burhoe, CivilizedBears, dog and human relationship history, dog breeds, dogs, Human–canine bond. Incipient Dog, what was the first dog on earth, wolf dogs. What was the first dog breed on earth?
Over these many years, I’ve met more than a few Bears in our Northern Appalachian woods. And long thought that bears and canines must be related. See Are Bears Related to Dogs – What are Bears Most Closely Related To?
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
DID YOU LIKE THIS EARLY DOGS POST? IF SO, PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS. SHARE THE STORY!
