Friday, November 15, 2013

Na'ilah's Ancestors

When did humans first make friend with dogs?

Human-like beings with brains not quite as advanced as ours were using tools 2.6 million years ago--homo habilis.

Humans who walked on two feet were around 1.8 million years ago--homo erectus.

People with brains exactly like ours showed up 200,000 years ago in Africa--homo sapiens.

By 35,000 years ago, they had reached Europe and were painting on walls of caves there.  By 25,000 years ago they had traveled to the Americas.

The Neolithic Revolution occurred around 9000 BCE--humans started growing crops and domesticating animals.  

The date for human domestication of dogs used to be pegged around 11,000 BCE, a couple thousand years before we started keeping other animals.

However, evolutionary biologist Robert Wayne of UCLA has examined DNA evidence to come up with a figure of 30,100 BCE to 16,800 BCE. 

Today's LA Times reports on his research published this week in the journal Science:

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-dogs-domesticated-in-europe-20131114,0,2657010.story#axzz2klRVD5MH

Wayne's theory is that wolves followed nomadic bands of humans, making use of the scraps leftover from a successful hunt.  Then the friendly wolves were enlisted to help in the hunt.

This information tells me that Na'ilah's instinct to hang around humans, even after she was abandoned at the side of the road, is perhaps 32,000 years old.

It also gives me a good excuse for noticing this stray dog and deciding to load her into my minivan. 

After all, humans have been welcoming questionable dogs into their lives for at least 18,800 years--maybe longer.  

Perhaps developing an instinct to care about canine beings is part of what got us where we are today.

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