How Did Humans Domesticate Wolves Into Dogs Over 15,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What Researchers Suspect

Have you ever looked at your dog and wondered how a species so different became so close to us? There was even a time millions of years ago, before hominins evolved to be higher up the food chain, when they were our ancestors’ predators together with big cats and other large carnivores.

However, by the time the modern human species, Homo sapiens, existed, around 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, they were more of our competition for bigger prey like mammoths and deer. But about 15,000 to 40,000 years ago, something changed; we not only stopped competing, we even worked together and became best friends. How did this all even begin to happen? Let’s find out.

When Did Wolves Become Dogs?

Researchers estimate that humans started forming close relationships with wolves over 15,000 years ago. It means it happened long before farming and agriculture were developed, at a time when we were still hunter-gatherers and possibly during the ice age.

One of the earliest signs of the domestication of wolves into dogs is the Bonn-Oberkassel dog, which refers to a burial site where a dog is buried with a human, over 14,000 years ago. This is evidence that provides not only a timeline but also hints of a close relationship between the human and the dog.

Reexamination of the puppy’s remains showed that it was sick for months even before its end. Experts argue that it would have required intensive human care for it to survive that long. In other words, the human or their tribe may have taken care of this dog even though it did not have any utilitarian value, such as for hunting.

Nursing the dog, along with proper burial, demonstrates that humans could have formed emotional bonds, past the practical purposes, with a dog thousands of years ago. But, this still begs the question, how did this bond form?

Read more: A-Z Animals | Science Direct

How Did the Domestication Happen?

Evolution of Dogs | How Wolf Became Dog | Origins of the Dog | Early Dog Domestication

A dog is a man’s best friend for thousands of years, but they were once wolves who had nothing to do with us, aside from competition and occasional predation. Their journey from that wild animal to being domesticated could be explained by two phenomena or hypotheses.

First is the self-domestication theory. In this model, it was the wolves who began the process of domestication and not humans. During the ice age, the hunter-gatherer societies left behind some remains of their hunt or animal food sources at the campsites.

Naturally, since wolves and humans were in competition for resources during this time, such as competing for large prey like mammoths and deer, most stayed away. However, a small population of less fearful wolves began to scavenge the carcasses that early humans had left behind.

Over time, these wolves began to have an evolutionary advantage by being able to gain access to a reliable food source over their wilder counterparts. After several more generations, this phenomenon created a new niche of wolves or proto-dogs that are already genetically distant or separated from the wilder wolves.

The second theory about how wolves became domesticated dogs has humans in a more active role. Early hunter-gatherer humans may have captured young wolf pups and raised them with the group.

To be sure they would not be as aggressive as the wild wolves humans were in competition with, they selected docile and more friendly pups that became their companions. The aggressive wolves or pups were culled or abandoned during the move.

Both of these theories have supporting evidence, and it is more likely that different scenarios happened in different places and at different times. Either way, it took several generations and possibly thousands of years before wolves were completely genetically distant to the point that they became a species of dogs.

Read more: Nature.com

Why Was Domestication Helpful for Both Humans and Wolves?

Dog Evolution

So, for wolves, they had reliable access to food sources, but what about for humans? Why did the early hunter-gatherers adopt these creatures, especially since they are also large carnivores, which is often the case with their competition or predators? Well, if you look at these described characteristics as not disadvantages, but instead assets, it makes more sense.

Since they were still wolves or still close to them after several generations, they have retained the instinct and skillset to hunt and protect the tribe. So, humans utilize these characteristics, making our furry friends join them during hunting large prey, guarding the campsite, and even clearing away some dangerous animals.

However, one of the most significant benefits is that over time, the wolves that turned into domesticated dogs may have evolved to have genes that made them more social. This allowed them to not only be partners during hunts or guardians of the group, but also a life companion, capable of bonding and forming relationships with humans.

This phenomenon is a prime example of coevolution where both species changed and adapted in response to one another because of their mutual beneficial relationship that evolves to be more over time.

Author's Final Thoughts

Long before sheep, cows, chickens, cats, or other animals, dogs were already by our side. Not just because we hunted together, but because over time, we have developed a strong bond that formed from our shared experiences and coevolution. This happened over 15,000 years ago, and countless generations later, this partnership helped shape both human civilization and who we are today as individuals.

Read next: Why Did Humans Begin Farming Around 10,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What Scientists Think Happened

References & Further Reading

Jonas, D., Tatrai, K., Sandor, S., Egyed, B., & Kubinyi, E. (2024). Dog domestication strongly relied on translation regulation according to differential gene expression analysis. Animals. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14182655

Bergström, A., Stanton, D. W. G., Taron, U. H., Frantz, L. A. F., et al. (2022). Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04824-9

Elzinga, D. C., Kulwicki, R., & co-authors. (2024). Rapid evolution of prehistoric dogs from wolves by natural and sexual selection emerges from an agent-based model. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2646

Tancredi, D., & Cardinali, I. (2023). Being a dog: A review of the domestication process. Genes. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10218297