Wolves, Dogs
& People
How Wolves & People Domesticated Each Other,
& How Dogs Helped Enable Civilization
Steve Hall
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
977 Springfield Rd., Wilmington, NY
Wolves, Dogs & People
People in Pre-History
People & Wolves
Wolves & Dogs
Dogs & People
Genetics
Dogs & Civilization
Terry Hawthorne
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
People in Pre-History
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Setting the Pleistocene Stage
2.5 million to 11,400 years ago
Glaciers advanced and retreated
eleven times
Ocean levels dropped and rose in
response
Glacial Maximum 20,000 years ago
Interglacial Ocean rises restricted
intercontinental movement, while
enabling intracontinental movement
Neanderthals, large mammals and their
predators spread across the north
Glacial Ocean drop enabled
intercontinental movement, while
restricting intracontinental movement
Neanderthals and wildlife were driven out of
the north, placing them in the path of
expanding homo sapiens.
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Genus Homo - Humans Out of Africa
Homo Habilis in Africa
2.3 to 1.4 million years ago
Homo Erectus: Africa,
Asia & Europe
2.2 million to 140,000 years
ago
Common ancestor with
Habilis?
Homo Neanderthalensis
150,000 to 30,00 years ago
in Europe & Mid East
Homo Sapiens
African genesis 200,000
years ago
Small group of Wanderers
became Humanity’s
Adams & Eves, leaving
Africa 60-100,000 y.a.
1. Homo Sapiens, 2. Neanderthal, 3. Early Hominids, Wiki
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
How Genus Homo Changed History
Mastered Fire
Warmth
Cooking, about 250,000 yrs ago
Security from dangerous Predators
Short-faced Bear
Saber Toothed Cat
Dire Wolf
Larger social groups made pre-Homo
frugivore diet unsustainable
Learned to scavenge Meat
Hunting game Incredibly Dangerous
Made Crude Tools and Weapons
Erectus shows evidence of the “Throwing”
Shoulder
Neanderthals Converse & create totems?
Homo Sapiens Developed Language &
Animistic Religion – Oral Tradition?
Pre Historic Cultures are extremely war-like
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Dire Wolf
Mark Hallett, Paleoart
Pleistocene wolf
Most common mammalian find in LaBrea Tar Pits
Larger than Grey Wolf
Driven to extinction about 10,000 years ago
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People & Wolves
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Competing & Living with Wolves
Competed for meat with Wolves & other
predators
Learned to steal Meat from Wolves
Inadvertently Provided Meat for Wolves
and other Scavengers at the Bone Pile
Took in occasional orphaned wolf pup
Wolves became early warning system for
dangerous predators or intruders
Provided Meat for Wolves at the Campfire
Accidental tactical cooperation during
hunting, with each exploiting the other
species strengths & tactics
Unnatural, forced selection led to dogs
Geographical, Topographical & Glacial
Isolation drove diversity in humans &
their “dogs”
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Cree at 2 years
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Cree & Steve
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Cree & Steve
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Zeebie
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Wolves & Dogs
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Wolves and Dogs
Wolf Packs are Families
Wolves are territorial
Wolf packs are hierarchical
Dogs are like Wolves.
Emotionally Transparent
Living in the Moment
Dreams & Actions
Cats and Dogs
Wolves are like People.
Mom & Dad are the “Breeding Pair”
Dogs are like Us.
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Dogs & People
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Dogs & People
Dmitri Belyaev 1959 experiment with
selecting & breeding tame silver foxes
Less adrenaline in Tamer foxes
Shorter limbs & tails
Floppy ears & curly tails
Left gaze bias in both Humans & Dogs
Sympathetic bias towards infant faces
Neotonous selection for breeding
Oxytocin release in dogs & owners
Heart attack survival & occurrence
Wolfs bark or “woof” as a warning
Dogs developed barking to communicate
with us
500 million dogs in the world, about
500k wolves
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Silver Fox, Wiki
Dogs & People
Natural Selection: Survivors Breed
Unnatural selection, or “Eugenics”: Selected Traits
Predominate & Become Exaggerated
Decline of nature’s fitness restrictions allows alternate phenotypes,
or “funny” looking dogs, to survive and breed
Dogs were selected for cooperation, for responding to
our social queues
Dog’s olfactory orientation married to our visual
orientation
Tandem Repeaters more prevalent in Canids
Physical Traits may be controlled by fewer genes, making selective
breed alteration easier to achieve…
…..While messing up pure breeds: 1 in 4 have genetic issues with
recessive genes expressed.
Independence from seasonal weather affects estrus frequency
80% of 300-400 breeds developed in last 130 years
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Genetics
DNA (Template) → RNA (Codon; sequence of 3
nucleotides) → Amino acid(s) → Polypeptide (Protein)
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
The Speed of Evolution via Natural or
Unnatural Selection Increases as the Rate of
Mutations Increase Between Each Breeding
With Regards to Canines, a high rate of mutations occurs
due to:
Tandem Repeaters
Repeatable DNA sequences with a relatively high
rate of mutations
Canids have a much higher rate of tandem repeaters
than other carnivores, and most other mammals
SINE Elements
Elements that leave one chromosomal location and
insert themselves into another
Canids have at least 11,000 SINE elements, humans have
less than 1,000
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
How to cause a mutation 101:
1. Change in DNA Sequence
2. Change in mRNA Codon
3. Change in Amino Acid Produced
4. Change in Protein Structure (Mutant Protein)
*The mutant protein may
cause:
1. No change
2. Different physical trait
3. Improved function Evolutionary advantage
4. Reduced function Evolutionary disadvantage
5. Uncontrolled cellular
division - Cancer
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Zeebie
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Alex & Zeebie
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Alex & Zeebie
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Dogs & Civilization
Hunting, security, load pulling, pest control, scavenging, food
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Stages of Civilization
Years ago People
Wolves & Dogs
135,000
Nomadic groups - Cro Magnon HunterGatherer
Wolf 1st domesticated animal,
Hunting, security, pest control &
scavenging
45,000 –
14,000
Earliest settlements
Wolf-dogs Hunting, security, load
pulling, pest control, scavenging,
food
13,000
Hunter- Gatherer
Oldest “dog” bones that were not a
wolf
9,000
Plant Domestication – Fig, Wheat
Hunting, security, load pulling, pest
control, scavenging, food
8,500
Animal Domestication – sheep, cat, goats
Shepherding, hunting, security, pest
control, scavenging, food
6,000
Agriculture provides surplus food & work,
leading to trade, as well as….
Shepherding, hunting, security, pest
control, scavenging, food
5,000
Towns & Cities, rise of Middle & Leisure
classes
Shepherding, hunting, security, pest
control, scavenging, Working Dogs,
food
150
Modern Age
Working Dogs & Pets , Breeding
explosion, food
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Plant Domestication Table
http://archaeology.about.com/od/domestications/a/plant_domestic.htm
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Animal Domestication Table
http://archaeology.about.com/od/dterms/a/domestication.htm
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Alex with Cree & Zeebie
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Alex & Zeebie
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Zeebie
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References & Interesting Information
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Family Album
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Cree & Zeebie
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Cree Puppy Shots
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Cree at 6 months
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Cree at 6 months
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Cree at 2 years
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Cree at 3 years
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Zeebie at 10 months
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Zeebie at 16 months
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Zeebie at
18 months
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Cree & Zeebie with Alex
Say Goodnight Boys!
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Thank You!
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
977 Springfield Rd., Wilmington, NY 12997
1-855-Wolf-Man