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Excess protein enabled dog domestication during severe Ice Age winters
Maria Lahtinen1,2, David Clinnick3,4, Kristiina Mannermaa5,6
1Finnish Food Authority, Mustialankatu 3, 00790, Helsinki, Finland. maria.lahtinen@finnishfoodauthority.fi.
Scientific Reports
|January 8, 2021
Summary
This study proposes a novel theory for dog domestication: resource partitioning. During harsh winters, ancient humans shared surplus protein with wolves, reducing competition and initiating domestication.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Animal Domestication
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Dogs (Canis familiaris) are the first domesticated animals, originating from mobile hunter-gatherers.
- Wolves and humans were apex predators competing for resources, making domestication a complex evolutionary puzzle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a new hypothesis on dog domestication based on food/resource partitioning.
- To explain how interspecies competition was overcome during the initial domestication phase.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of archaeological data from Pleistocene sites with early dog remains.
- Comparative dietary analysis of humans and wolves, focusing on protein metabolism.
- Modeling of resource availability during harsh winter conditions in Late Pleistocene Eurasia.
Main Results:
- Pleistocene archaeological sites with early dog remains are concentrated in subarctic and arctic-analogous environments.
- Calculations indicate a surplus of animal protein for Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers during lean winters.
- This surplus protein could have been shared with incipient dogs, mitigating competition.
Conclusions:
- Resource partitioning, specifically sharing lean meat during winter, offers a plausible mechanism for ameliorating competition between humans and wolves.
- This process likely facilitated the initial stages of dog domestication, leading to behavioral and evolutionary changes in dogs.
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