We all know dogs might have long been considered man’s best friend, but according to a detailed study, while men may have wanted dogs for hunting and herding livestock, it was women who gave them names and domesticated them.
Researchers from the University of Washington conducted a cross-cultural analysis of Dog-Human Coevolution. Dogs are the oldest and most widespread of the domesticated animals. And they are present in practically every human community worldwide with varying roles across time and location. Archaeology and evolutionary genetics have made inroads in the natural history of domesticated dogs.
Variation in human-dog interactions remains poorly understood, and not many studies have attemped to map the spectrum. Recent research examines human-dog interaction from psychological and evolutionary perspectives and field anthropologists have begun systematic research on how dogs were used to assist hunting across social-ecological contexts.
Engaging Canines to Participate with Humans
The researchers noted specific instances that showed dogs’ utility, or usefulness, to humans, and humans’ utility to dogs as well as the “personhood” of dogs–when canines were treated like people. Interestingly, they found that in the earliest human settlements where dogs were associated with humans it was women who gave dogs names, let them sleep indoors, and mourned when they died. Men might have kept dogs for hunting, but it was women who showed them love and compassion. Humans were more likely to regard dogs as a type of person if the dogs had a special relationship with women. They were more likely to be included in family life, treated as subjects of affection and generally, people had greater regard for them. The researchers found that dogs’ relationships with women might have had a greater impact on the dog-human bond than relationships with men.
Hunting also seemed to strengthen the dog-human connection with men. In cultures that hunted with dogs, they were more valued by their human partners: they were higher in the measures of dogs’ utility to humans and in personhood. Those values declined, however, when food production increased whether it was growing crops or keeping livestock. This finding seemed to go against the commonly held perception of herding dogs working in concert with humans, but it has been noted that in many cultures, herding dogs often work alone whereas hunting requires a more intense cooperation.
This study adds evidence to the evolutionary theory that dogs and humans chose each other, rather than the older theory that humans intentionally sought out wolf pups to raise on their own. Either way, there have been clear benefits for the dogs.
Dogs are everywhere humans are and if we think that dogs are successful as a species if there are lots of them, then they have been able to thrive. They have hitched themselves to us and followed us all over the world. It’s been a very successful relationship.”
Dog-Human Coevolution: Cross-Cultural Analysis of Multiple Hypotheses