Women Played A Big Role In Evolution Of Dogs And Cementing Our Friendship
Researchers looked at ethnographic documents in the Human Relations Area Files Database and found over 844 ethnographers writing 144 traditional subsistence-level societies from over the world and found thousands of mentions of dogs, which helped in providing insight on the dog-human relationship.
We all know that dogs are one of the best things to happen to humanity. They¡¯re adorable, helpful and sometimes, smart as humans.
Although the saying might say that dogs are ¡®man¡¯s best friend¡¯, a new study has found how it¡¯s actually women who have helped in creating this strong bond and helping dogs evolve to be our loyal pets.
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This is according to a cross-cultural study by researchers at the Washington State University, which has revealed that there could have been numerous factors that helped strengthen the bond between humans and dogs including, temperature, hunting and even gender.
Researchers looked at ethnographic documents in the Human Relations Area Files Database and found over 844 ethnographers writing 144 traditional subsistence-level societies from over the world and found thousands of mentions of dogs, which helped in providing insight on the dog-human relationship.
Jaime Chambers, a WSU anthropology Ph.D. student and first author on the paper published in the Journal of Ethnobiology, explained, "Our modern society is like a blip in the timeline of human history. The truth is that human-dog relationships have not looked like they do in Western industrialized societies for most of human history, and looking at traditional societies can offer a wider vision."
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Researchers discovered specific instances where the dogs were not only useful to humans but there were also instances of personhood when they were treated just like other humans. And in this data, a pattern emerged that revealed that when women were more involved with dogs, the humans' utility to dogs rose as well as a dogs¡¯ personhood.
Chambers explained, "We found that dogs' relationships with women might have had a greater impact on the dog-human bond than relationships with men. Humans were more likely to regard dogs as a type of a person if the dogs had a special relationship with women. They were more likely to be included in family life, treated as subjects of affection and generally, people had greater regard for them."
Researchers also discovered that climate was another factor for an increase in the utility of dogs in human lives was linked with climate and environment. The colder the climate, the more utility the dogs were for humans.
Robert Quinlan, WSU anthropology professor and corresponding author on the paper explained, "Relative to humans, dogs are really not particularly energy-efficient. Their body temperature is higher than humans, and just a bit of exercise can make them overheat on a hot day. We saw this trend that they had less utility to humans in warmer environments."
Researchers conclude stating that dogs and humans both chose each other as opposed to the previous theory that said humans intentionally raise wolf pups as their own, stating that dogs have had clear benefits staying with humans too.
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Chambers concluded stating, "Dogs are everywhere humans are. If we think that dogs are successful as a species if there are lots of them, then they have been able to thrive. They have hitched themselves to us and followed us all over the world. It's been a very successful relationship."
