Dog domestication
Domesticación del perro
- Date
- c. 14.5 ka · confidence high
- Place
- Bonn-Oberkassel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Credited to
- Homo sapiens (Magdalenian)
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A young dog buried alongside two humans, which had survived canine distemper thanks to care. The first domesticated species, the product of coevolution with wolves.
Skulls from Goyet (Belgium, 36 ka) and Razboinichya (Altai, 33 ka) have been proposed as early dogs, with strong debate; genetics points to a single or double origin (Europe and East Asia) between 40 and 20 ka.
What it led to
- Assisted hunting, guarding and load transport (sledding)
- A mental model of domestication: a bridge towards livestock
- An interspecies emotional bond and the dog's status as a member of the group
- A demographic advantage for groups with dogs over those without
Built on
- Brush hutc. 23 ka
- Brush hut