Human-dog friendship goes back even further than we thought

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Bones discovered in central Alaska have just revealed that the relationship between humans and canines may be older than we thought. A discovery whose conclusions were published on December 4 in the journal Science Advances, which pushes back by two millennia the first attempts to tame canids in North America, thus bringing this date to 12,000 years.

Man's best companion was thus present alongside us in this geographical area from the Upper Pleistocene and its tough predators, well before the appearance of agriculture and sedentarization. On the other hand, in Eurasia, evidence of domestication is generally even older, around 33,000 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic.

Ancestral cohabitation written in the bones

These results were obtained from analyses of biomarkers (molecules or biological compounds) carried out on canine bones discovered at an ancient human camp in Alaska. The marked presence of isotopes characteristic of salmon in these bone remains intrigues researchers. These canids were therefore consuming salmon, a dietary peculiarity that does not correspond to the natural habits of wild canids, which do not usually hunt fish.

The presence of these specific biological markers therefore indicates human intervention in the animal's diet. This hypothesis is further reinforced by the discovery on the site of fishing tools, establishing a tangible link between human activities and the presence of the canine.

Between wolf and dog: the subtleties of a biological transformation

Researchers are particularly cautious in classifying this animal, or at least what remains of it. Ben Potter, an archaeologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, asks a seemingly simple question: “What is a dog?” ». The answer to the latter is not easy to formulate. Indeed, the criteria that define a dog are articulated around three main axes: its genetic heritage, its morphology and its behaviors.

Genetic analyses carried out on the bones demonstrate that this canid presented notable differences with modern dogss. Its bone morphology also differs from contemporary canine standards, suggesting an intermediate form between the wild wolf and the domestic dog. A particular evolutionary position, which represents a missing link in our understanding of the domestication process. Ben Potter highlights the lack of sufficient data on the origins of dogs and the very nature of the domestication process, reminding us that we are still navigating in largely uncharted waters.

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The discovered specimen thus embodies an intermediate stage in the process of evolution towards the domestic dog. Although there is evidence of close proximity to humans and controlled diet, researchers cannot say for sure whether this is a dog in the modern sense. The existence of this species “in-between” reminds us that the process of evolution proceeds by nuances rather than by leaps.

Domestication: a complex and gradual process

François Lanoë, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona, sheds essential light on this phenomenon: “The transformation of a wild animal into a domestic animal is a process, not an event ». What Lanoë means is that the mutation of a wild animal into a domestic form is part of a long temporality, where multiple biological and behavioral modifications are intertwined.

At the genetic level, the transformations occur gradually, through a series of mutations that accumulate over generations. These changes affect not only the animal's physical appearance, but also its cognitive abilities and social behavior.

Morphology evolves in parallel, with changes in bone structure, teeth, and even brain size. Behaviors, meanwhile, change in response to the selective pressure exerted by human presence, favoring more docile and receptive individuals to interaction with humans.

In these Alaskan remains, researchers observe the first stages of a cohabitation that would permanently transform both humans and dogs. This transformation occurs at three distinct levels of interaction, each representing an increasing degree of interdependence. The first level, simple spatial proximity, is characterized by opportunistic coexistence, with canids gravitating toward human encampments, attracted by food waste.

Taming is the second level, marked by increased mutual tolerance and more regular interactions, without however implying complete control of reproduction. Finally, domestication itself represents the final stage of this process, where man deliberately intervenes in the selection of breeders, thereby directly influencing the evolution of the species.

Our knowledge of this shared history between man and the canid is now enriched by a new page. These remains prove that a nascent relationship emerged, where the boundary between the wild and the tame was beginning to blur, even without being able to speak of domestication in the strict sense.

• Bones in Alaska reveal that the domestication of canids in North America dates back 12,000 years.
• Traces of salmon consumption and fishing tools indicate human intervention in the canids' diet.
• The specimen discovered is a species somewhere between a wolf and a dog.

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