“Revealed: The Surprising Self-Driven Evolution of Wolves into Dogs—Were They the Real Architects of Their Own Domestication?”
However, a new set of mathematical models published in Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences is proposing a different theory: wolves “self-domesticated” into dogs to reap the benefits of human food scraps.
It’s not an altogether new concept, but the new models could help to clarify the timeline somewhat, showing how natural selection could have turned wild wolves into domesticated dogs over the course of a few thousand years — all without selective breeding by humans.
How Were Dogs Domesticated? The Debate Surrounding How Modern Canines Evolved From Wolves
Wikimedia CommonsA North American gray wolf, a close descendant of the gray wolves that kickstarted the domestication of dogs.
It has been well established that humans and dogs have had a strong domestic bond for at least 30,000 years. Archaeological and genetic evidence also shows that dogs are descended from gray wolves and that they became domesticated over the course of two distinct historical periods.
The first domestication period took place between roughly 30,000 and 15,000 years ago, during which wild wolves were domesticated into early dogs. The second period, from 15,000 years ago to the present day, saw the emergence of a variety of dog breeds, some resulting from selective breeding by humans.
Public DomainA watercolor tracing by archaeologist Henri Breuli of a cave painting depicting a wolf-like canid, dated to 19,000 years ago.
Some members of the scientific community have previously argued that the first domestication period was also heavily influenced by humans and selective breeding that was done to tame wild wolves. There are several reasons for this argument, but the main two are: natural selection would not have worked quickly enough to domesticate dogs in that period of time, and it’s more likely that wild wolves would have seen ancient humans as competitors for food and not partners.
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