Bones discovered in central Alaska have brought to light the relationship between man and canine would be older than we thought. A discovery whose conclusions were published on December 4 in the magazine Science Advanceswhich pushes back the first attempts to tame canines in North America by two millennia, therefore bringing this date to 12,000 years.
Man’s best companion was thus present at our side in this geographical area from the Upper Pleistocene and its tough predators, well before the appearance of agriculture and sedentarization. On the other hand, in Eurasia, evidence of domestications is generally even older, around 33,000 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic.
An ancestral cohabitation written in the bones
These results were obtained from analyzes of biomarkers (molecules or biological compounds) carried out on canid bones discovered at an ancient human encampment in Alaska. The marked presence of isotopes characteristic of salmon in these bone remains intrigues researchers. These canids therefore consumed salmon, a dietary particularity which does not correspond to the natural habits of wild canids, who do not usually hunt fish.
The presence of these specific biological markers therefore indicates human intervention in animal feeding. Hypothesis which is further reinforced by the discovery on the site of tools linked to fishing, establishing a tangible link between human activities and the presence of the canid.
Between wolf and dog: the subtleties of a biological transformation
Researchers are particularly cautious in classifying this animal, or at least what remains of it. Ben Potter, an archaeologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, asks a seemingly simple question: “ What is a dog? “. The answer to the latter is not easy to formulate. Indeed, the criteria which define a dog revolve around three main axes: its genetic heritage, its morphology and its behaviors.
Genetic analyzes carried out on the bones demonstrate that this canid showed notable differences from modern dogss. Its bone morphology also differs from contemporary canine standards, suggesting an intermediate form between the wild wolf and the domestic dog. A particular evolutionary position, which represents a missing link in our understanding of the domestication process. Ben Potter highlights the lack of sufficient data on the origins of dogs and the very nature of the domestication process, reminding us that we are still navigating largely uncharted waters.
The discovered specimen thus embodies an intermediate stage in the process of evolution towards the domestic dog. Although evidence points to proximity to humans and a controlled diet, researchers cannot say with certainty that it is a dog in the modern sense. The existence of this species between the two » therefore reminds us that the process of evolution proceeds by nuances rather than by leaps.
Domestication: a complex and gradual process
François Lanoë, anthropologist at the University of Arizona, sheds essential light on this phenomenon: “ The transformation of a wild animal into a domestic animal is a process, not an event “. What Lanoë means is that the mutation of a wild animal into a domestic form is part of a long temporalitywhere multiple biological and behavioral modifications intertwine.
At the genetic level, transformations take place graduallythrough a series of mutations that accumulate over generations. These changes not only affect the animal’s physical appearance, but also its cognitive abilities and social behavior.
Morphology evolves in parallel, with changes in bone structure, teeth, and even brain size. Behaviors, for their part, modify in response to the selective pressure exerted by human presence, favoring more docile and receptive individuals to interaction with humans.
Researchers observe in these Alaskan remains the first stages of a cohabitation that would lastingly transform both humans and dogs. This transformation is carried out according to three distinct levels of interactioneach representing an increasing degree of interdependence. The first level, simple spatial proximity, is characterized by opportunistic coexistence, where canids gravitate around human camps, attracted by food waste.
Taming constitutes the second level, marked by increased mutual tolerance and more regular interactions, without implying complete control of reproduction. Finally, domestication itself represents the final stage of this process, where man deliberately intervenes in the selection of reproductive animals, thus directly influencing the evolution of the species.
Our knowledge of this shared history between man and canine is enriched today with a new page. These remains prove that a nascent relationship emerged, where the boundary between wild and tame began to fadeeven without being able to speak of domestication in the strict sense.
- Bones in Alaska reveal that the taming of canids in North America dates back 12,000 years.
- Traces of salmon consumption and fishing tools indicate human intervention in the diet of canines.
- The specimen discovered is a species located between the wolf and the dog.
