The relationship between humans and dogs goes back thousands of years. Dogs are the first domesticated animal, with evidence of dog-like canids living alongside humans dating back over 14,000 years. However, it is not entirely clear when humans first began actively domesticating dogs and keeping them as pets.
One key time period to examine is the last ice age, which occurred between 110,000-12,000 years ago. During this time, humans were hunter-gatherers struggling to survive the extreme cold. Could they have had pet dogs to help them during this harsh period? Let’s explore what the archaeological evidence tells us.
When Did Dog Domestication Begin?
Genetic studies indicate that dogs diverged from wolves sometime between 20,000-40,000 years ago. However, the archaeological evidence suggests that dog domestication occurred sometime later, around 14,000 years ago.
The earliest concrete evidence of dog domestication comes from a burial site in Germany dated to 14,000 years ago. At this site, a puppy was buried with two humans. The puppy was already morphologically distinct from wolves, indicating it was in the early stages of domestication.
Several other archaeological sites from 13,000-17,000 years ago contain dog remains mixed with human artifacts and food debris. The dogs were not wild, but instead living in close proximity to humans. Taken together, this evidence indicates that active dog domestication was well underway by 14,000 years ago, at the very end of the last ice age.
Did Ice Age Humans Keep Dogs as Pets?
While dogs were clearly becoming domesticated around 14,000 years ago, were they already fully “pet” dogs, or still closer to working animals?
Several clues suggest ice age dogs served a purpose and were not just companions:
- They were likely used during hunts. Dogs could track, chase down, and help kill large game like mammoths.
- Remains show they were fed leftover scraps from human meals rather than provided for.
- There are no known “burials” of ice age dogs with grave goods as is sometimes seen in later time periods.
Additionally, genetic studies suggest there was still gene flow between early domestic dogs and wild wolf populations during this time period. This interbreeding indicates these dogs were not yet fully domesticated household pets. They retained many wild behaviors and could not simply live alongside humans without serving a purpose.
Ice Age Dog Breeds
What did these early domestic dogs look like? They differed greatly from modern breeds. Based on skeletal remains, ice age dogs were:
- Larger and more robust than most modern breeds.
- Closer in size to large modern canids like German Shepherds or Malamutes.
- Had larger teeth and more powerful jaws than modern dogs.
- Were likely skilled hunters that could take down large prey.
In summary, ice age dogs were not yet the pampered pets we see today. They retained more wolf-like features and behaviors and were likely used as hunting companions and working dogs by humans struggling to survive in a harsh climate.
When Did Humans First Keep Dogs as Pets?
If ice age dogs were still semi-wild, when did humans first begin keeping dogs solely for companionship?
The archaeological evidence suggests this occurred gradually over thousands of years as both humans and dogs became more domesticated. Some key periods and developments include:
- 9,000 years ago: Dogs are buried with ornamental collars, suggesting they hold value beyond just working tasks.
- 8,000 years ago: Puppy burials and dog gravestones become more common, indicating closer bonds.
- 5,000 years ago: Selective breeding produces smaller dog breeds less capable of hunting/work.
- 3,500 years ago: Dogs are depicted as companions and pets in art from ancient Egypt and other cultures.
Based on this timeline, the shift from working dog to pet likely occurred between 5,000-8,000 years ago. As agriculture replaced hunting, dogs took on new roles as protectors, herders, and companions. Humans and dogs co-evolved to form closer social bonds.
Conclusion
In summary, the archaeological evidence suggests:
- Dogs were first domesticated around 14,000 years ago in the late Pleistocene/ice age.
- These early domestic dogs were still semi-wild and used as working animals, not pampered pets.
- The first true dog “pets” emerged gradually over thousands of years as humans grew more sedentary.
- The human-dog bond continued strengthening as the two species coevolved.
So in conclusion, while humans did have domestic dogs in the ice age, these dogs were not yet the adored household pets we have today. That special bond would develop over many more millennia of close cohabitation and cooperation.
References
Larson, G. et al. (2012). Rethinking dog domestication by integrating genetics, archeology, and biogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(23), 8878-8883.
Ovodov, N. et al. (2011). A 33,000-year-old incipient dog from the Altai Mountains of Siberia: evidence of the earliest domestication disrupted by the Last Glacial Maximum. PLoS One, 6(7), e22821.
Morey, D. (2010). Dogs: domestication and the development of a social bond. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 20(2), 175-176.
Janssens, L. et al. (2018). Anthropogenic resource subsidies determine space use by Australian dingoes: an improved resource selection modelling approach. PLoS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192877
Key Facts and Figures
| Time Period | Development |
|---|---|
| 14,000 years ago | Earliest archaeological evidence of dog domestication |
| 13,000-17,000 years ago | Dogs intermixed with humans but still semi-wild |
| 9,000 years ago | Dogs buried with ornamental collars |
| 8,000 years ago | Puppy burials and dog gravestones emerge |
| 5,000 years ago | Breeding produces smaller dog breeds |
| 3,500 years ago | Dogs depicted as pets in ancient art |