The Domestication of Dogs
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The Domestication of Dogs
The oldest known remains of dogs date back about 15,000 years ago. But the start of the interaction of wolves, the dog's ancestor, and people goes back over 125,000 years ago.
There are several theories as to how wolves and people began to interact. One theory suggests that the paths of wolves and humans may have crossed because of our similar hunting techniques. Both people and our four-legged counterparts used teamwork in order to capture prey. People may have realized that wolves, with their keener sense of smell and hearing, were better able to locate the next meal as well as ward off predators. And then perhaps we began to feed the wolves. Thus, was the start of our co-existence.
Some of the earliest breeds of dogs include hounds from Egypt resembling our modern day sight hounds such as the saluki, greyhound, and the Ibizan hound. Many paintings depicted on Egyptian walls, sculptures, and tombs show the close relationship that people had with their dogs as early as 4500 B.C.
