Pies: Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen

Evidence: 80 • authority: 72

The domestication of the dog was the process which resulted in the emergence of the domestic dog as a species (Canis familiaris). This included the dog's genetic divergence from the wolf, its domestication, and the emergence of the first dogs. Genetic studies suggest that all ancient and modern dogs share a common ancestry, descending from an ancient, now-extinct wolf population – or closely related wolf populations – which was distinct from the modern wolf lineage. The dog's similarity to the grey wolf is the result of substantial dog-into-wolf gene flow, with the modern grey wolf being the dog's nearest living relative. An extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the do…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 88

Dogs. The relationship between humans and dogs has garnered considerable attention within archaeological research around the world. Investigations into the lived experiences of domestic dogs have proven to be an intellectually productive avenue for better understanding humanity in the past. This book examines the human-canine connection by moving beyond asking when, why, or how the dog was domesticated. While these questions are fundamental, beyond them lies a rich and textured history of humans maintaining a bond with another species through cooperation and companionship over thousands of years. Diverse techniques and theoretical approaches are used by authors in this volume to investigate…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 92

Companion animals support human wellbeing and health: evolutionary, behavioral and physiological contexts.. This review deals with the questions why humans want to live with other animals and how this is at all possible. In fact, it has become common sense that living and working with companion animals entails major benefits for human wellbeing and health, albeit with the caveat that the positive experience of private keepers and practitioners in pedagogy and therapy is not always backed by scientific scrutiny. The present focus is on relevant aspects of the "Darwinian continuum," which provides humans and other animals with a shared social toolbox, including brain, physiology and behaviora…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 92

Genotypic and phenotypic consequences of domestication in dogs.. Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are genomic regions that arise when identical haplotypes are inherited from a shared ancestor. In this study, we explored ROH across 556 whole-genome sequences from domesticated and non-domesticated dogs. Then, we leveraged ROH from 466 breed dogs, representing 13 breed groups and 13 phenotypic traits, to investigate associations between genetic diversity and non-disease phenotypes. We identified significant associations between the ROH-based inbreeding coefficient (FROH) and multiple phenotypes. These include three quantitative traits (height, weight, lifespan) and ten morphological and coat-related…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

This page gives a list of domesticated animals, also including a list of animals which are or may be currently undergoing the process of domestication and animals that have an extensive relationship with humans beyond simple predation. This includes species which are semi-domesticated, undomesticated but captive-bred on a commercial scale, or commonly wild-caught, at least occasionally captive-bred, and tameable. In order to be considered fully domesticated, most species have undergone significant genetic, behavioural and morphological changes from their wild ancestors, while others have changed very little from their wild ancestors despite hundreds or thousands of years of potential select…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

The domesticated silver fox (Vulpes vulpes forma amicus) is a form of the silver fox, a melanistic form of the wild red fox, that has been to some extent domesticated under laboratory conditions. Domesticated silver foxes are the result of an experiment designed to demonstrate the power of selective breeding to transform species, as described by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species. The experiment at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, Russia, explored whether selection for behaviour rather than morphology may have been the process that had produced dogs from wolves, by recording the changes in foxes when in each generation only the most tame foxes were allowed to b…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

The domestication of the cat can be traced back to Near Eastern and Egyptian populations of the African wildcat, Felis lybica, from which emerged the domestic cat (F. catus). Both belong to the Felis lineage of the family Felidae, which is thought to have first diversified around 13 to 12 million years ago. Several investigations have shown that all domestic varieties of cats come from a single lineage of F. lybica, although early interactions between wildcats and Neolithic human settlements occurred across a broad geographic range. Originating in the Near East, the first domestic cats spread from the ancient Mediterranean world via maritime trade as well as the Silk Road, and later worldwi…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

The domestication of vertebrates is the mutual relationship between vertebrate animals, including birds and mammals, and the humans who influence their care and reproduction. Charles Darwin recognized a small number of traits that made domesticated species different from their wild ancestors. He was also the first to recognize the difference between conscious selective breeding (i.e. artificial selection) in which humans directly select for desirable traits, and unconscious selection where traits evolve as a by-product of natural selection or from selection of other traits. There is a genetic difference between domestic and wild populations. There is also a genetic difference between the do…

Evidence: 58 • authority: 80

When dogs return to nature – just how domesticated are our pooches really?

Evidence: — • authority: 38