History of man’s best friend
WE LOVE dogs for their warm and loving nature, their loyalty and their companionship. It’s certainly a long relationship that goes back to the dawn of time.
How long we’ve been friends is uncertain. In the 1860s, archaeologists found human and dog remains in the Goyet Caves in Belgium that go back 36,500 years. Back then, they thought it was evidence of humans and canines living together.
However, modern DNA analysis of the doggie skull revealed the animal looked like a dog but it wasn’t related to the dogs we know today. Instead, it belonged to a similar animal that has since died out.
Although some view this as a disappointment, it does suggest our ancestors adopted and domesticated dog-like animals, which is fascinating all by itself.
Of the more solid evidence, there is a 5,300-year-old gold pendant from Uruk, the Sumerian city-state. It is definitely a Saluki, complete with feathered fur and sleek lines.
Similarly, the Metropolitan Museum in New York is currently showing a 5,100-year-old seal from Uruk that depicts a man hunting a boar with the help of a dog, also with the trademark Saluki looks.
But even more exciting, historians in Saudi Arabia are analysing rock art in the Hail Region that shows hunters using dogs on leashes chasing down deer and other prey.
In one stunningly clear carving, a hunter has wrapped the leash of his two dogs around his waist and he is holding a bow and arrow while the three of them confront a lion.
The area is covered with similar pictures, clearly showing different animals being hunted and with the humans and the dogs working together. The teams investigating the area believe the carvings are 11,000 years old and hope to prove it with scientific analysis.
How far back we can prove our inter-species friendship goes is anyone’s guess. But it is interesting to consider what those people back in prehistoric Belgium and Saudi would say if they could see how their wolf-like companions have evolved over the millennia. Think they’d be surprised?