preview

Domestication Of Dogs Research Paper

Decent Essays

Dogs, the very animal that comes to find first when we think of a pet. The very animal that has been deemed to be man’s best friend. Dogs hold a very special place in humanity’s heart, as they have been with us for such a long time. As stated in popular Science Journal, Science, Doctor Grimm, D explains that, “Dogs were the very first thing humans domesticated – before any plant, before any other animal”. (Science, David Grimm, 274) Journal Dogs are far and between the most popular animal in the world, ranging between being pets, service animals, and even K9 units for the police. They are the pet that every child, including myself, dreamed of having as part of the family. But, where exactly did our fated companions come from? Why did …show more content…

Wayne and his associates who conducted Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences on over 302 species of canines ranging from dogs and wolves, not only supported the original belief that wolves are the ancestors of dogs, but that dogs originated more than 135,000 years ago. (Science, Robert K. Wayne et al., 1997) Abstract Note this data suggests the first origin of the dog and not the wolf, which further cements the fact that the domestication of dogs had to have happened shortly after they were founded, only ranging in a 500-1000 year gap from the first sighting. But going further back it states that wolves and coyotes coincided and are said to have originated around 1 million years ago, and then later found near the bones of hominids around 1 million - 400,000 years ago, which shows that there had already existed a hominin – Canidae relationship potentially even 1 million years ago. (Science, Robert K. Wayne et al., 1997) Journal Furthermore, studies in the late 1990s have confirmed that Gray Wolves were the direct descendants of dogs today as they share 99.9% of DNA. (Science, David Grimm 274) Journal Due to this fact, it is plausible that wolves and coyotes were already domesticated, and travelled around with their hominin companions, and since dogs are the direct …show more content…

Perhaps they were lonely and needed company. Perhaps they needed a partner when it came to the hunt and getting food, water, and materials. Perhaps they didn’t have time to spend with their families or children so they tamed beasts for their children to be entertained with. The possibilities are endless, but the most probable one is that they took them on as companions, not only for helping them hunt, but perhaps for actual companionship. There is a reason dogs are called man’s best friend after all. But, in actuality no one really knows why we decided to befriend the canines, let alone domesticate them. As seen in the end of Dawn of the Dogs written by Grimm Dawn he states that Larson feels confident that with the amount of scientists that are on board with this mission now will finally lead to the resolution of the mystery of dog domestication. Furthermore, he states that some scientists do disagree with simply throwing more data into the mix to try and only potentially solve the issue, but deep down they all want one thing, the truth. ““I’m willing to accept a different result” … “If I’m wrong it will be a bit embarrassing” … “but science is about finding the truth”“.(Science, David Grimm, 279) Journal The only thing fully understood about the domestication of dogs was thanks to Greger Larson who states that without the domestication of dogs, no other domestication would exist; not for other

Get Access