How Long Have Cats And Dogs Been Domesticated

Since cats were venerated in ancient Egypt, they were commonly believed to have been domesticated there,[12] but there may have been instances of domestication as early as the Neolithic from around 9,500 years ago (7,500 BC).[13] A genetic study in 2007[14] concluded that all domestic cats are descended from Near Eastern wildcats, having diverged around 8,000 BC in the Middle East.[12][15] A 2016 study found that leopard cats were undergoing domestication independently in China around 5,500 BC, though this line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domesticated populations of today.[16][17] A 2017 study confirmed that domestic cats are descendants of those first domesticated by farmers in the Near East around 9,000 years ago.[18][19]

The true origin of the dog is unknown, since there are many theories about how they became to be. The grey wolf is the most probable ancestor of all current dogs breeds. Early humans formed an unlikely partnership with the grey wolf. It was to say that dogs were wild until about 12,000 years ago, but in 1997 a DNA analysis suggested a date of about 130,000 years ago for the transformation of wolves to dogs. Which means wolves began to adapt to human society long before humans settled down and began learning agriculture. One group suggested that wolves and dogs split 32,000 years ago, somewhere in East Asia. An analysis of mitochondrial DNA from 18 fossil canids. They were the first animal we humans domesticated. The fates of our two species became braided together.

Even if they have a lot of similarities in common, there are also a few differences. Domestication often implies retention of juvenile characteristics and there we are already pointing to one of the biggest differences between both, their mental state. Dogs never really reach maturity. In fact we can mentally compare them to a 10 to 30 days old wolf puppy. It is this little but very significant trait which makes it possible for us human to domesticate dogs so well. It would be almost impossible to domesticate a wolf.

It was further hypothesized by father-son team S.J. Olsen and J.W. Olsen (1977) that the domestication of dogs started in China. They proposed that, starting with a small subspecies of wolf, humans changed it into the modern

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris or Canis familiaris)[2] is a member of genus Canis (canines) that forms part of the wolf-like canids,[3] and is the most widely abundant carnivore.[4][5][6] The dog and the extant gray wolf are sister taxa,[7][8][9] with modern wolves not closely related to the wolves that were first domesticated.[8][9] The dog was the first domesticated species[9][10] and has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.[11]

As stated in the article “How Cats Became Domesticated”,” they hypothesized that cats were accepted by humans because of wild cats hunting rodents in agrarian civilizations as long as 9,000 years ago. This hypothesis carries weight as cats are excellent hunters and are still praised for killing unwanted rodents even today. I personally know family members that only own cats for dealing with rodents in their property. These family members are still maintaining the traditional cat human relationship from our ancestors. What was interesting in that same article was when they stated, “Cats, unlike dogs, are really only semi-domesticated… we were surprised to find DNA evidence of their domestication”. This explains the independent nature of cats that allows them to hunt rodents without the guidance of humans. Cats carry in a wild nature that keeps them self-sustained and unlike other domesticated animals are not completely dominated by their owner. Being semi-domesticated does not mean that cats are completely indifferent to humans; cats still have a unique connection to their

Through Europe during early 1900s, dogs were being bred to sustain characteristics that allowed reinforced their jobs of herding animals.

When the question of how some animals ended up to be domesticated is raised, dog, which was the first domesticated animal, fascinate scientists. Debates revolve around the issues of “intentionality" — human choice animal to domesticate— and "self-domestication," — animals choice to be domesticated. How you address these issues depends on your knowledge on how domesticated animals changed morphologically and physiologically. Domestication, which was long and complex process, natural selection and artificial selection, may both have functioned at same and different or times. Again, intentionality overlooks significant questions such as what do morphology,

Millions of people worldwide take care of domestic animals, with dogs being one of the most common. Man’s best friend was only fairly recently tamed by people. Around 10 to 30 thousand years ago in East Asia, wild wolves began to follow human hunter-gatherers, and scavenge on scraps of food. If a wolf was not aggressive, it had a better chance to form bonds with people. Humans began to feed the wolves, luring them closer, until the animals would loiter around their camps to eat food scraps. Scientists are not exactly sure why humans decided to let the wolves live with them; after all, people killed off most carnivorous animal species when they fought over a food supply. It is thought, however, that tribes used dogs to help them hunt for game,

All dogs can be traced back 40 million years ago to a weasel-like animal called the Miacis which dwelled in trees and dens. The Miacis later evolved into the Tomarctus, a direct forbear of the genus Canis, which includes the wolf and jackal as well as the dog.[8]

In the beginning which is the ice age in this point the relationship between dogs and humans has changed overtime. It used to be that these creatures were our sworn enemies and hated each other and always fought for survival. And now we love them and consider them as family, so how did this relationship change? Well our first piece of evidence is in the article “How the Wolf Became the Dog” it states that scientist most common theory is “Bold Wolves began venturing into human camps to gobble up scraps. They would give birth to pups who inherited their parents bold personalities and, like their parents, made a habit of snacking on leftover human meals.”

By 14,000 to 12,000 years ago dogs were brought over from Asia by the first settlers, These settlers most likely used dogs for hunting and protection, but when situation called they probably used dogs as food. By 10,000 years ago dogs were effecting humans everyday lives all around the world and the uses of dogs were becoming more varied, and by less than 1,000 years ago dogs genetic diversity had changed so immensely to were some of them have no similarities to the wolf. By this time dogs were being bred for specific jobs and tasks, such as herding and watching over livestock. Today there are over a billion dogs in the world made up of over 340 recognized breeds. In America alone there are over 11 million dogs, many of which are simply used as pets and companions with no other use, almost the complete opposite reason for domestication in the first

Where did dogs come from? Thousands of years ago dogs were wolves. Over time humans has been treating, caring, and loving wolves. These wolves have been changing into the animals now a days that we call dogs. In the articles "How the Wolf Became the Dog" and "How the dogs Became Part of the Family" they both talk about how wolves and dogs changed their lives. Humans have really made a connection with these animals. These relationship between dogs and humans has changed over time.

The reason dogs have become domesticated was the synergy between humans and the wolves who were the ancestors of modern dogs. Dogs were attracted to humans by scavenging their left over food and the humans liked the dogs protecting the human settlements with their warning barks and fending off other predators with their constant presence. This meant the dogs natural diet of raw food was changed over the years and adapted to include cooked food left over from human consumption. This means that dogs who were essentially carnivores were eating the same food as humans, who were essentially omnivores. It is only since the late 1800′s that commercial dog food has been available, and not until the 1950′s did it become popular. It is also in the same

To begin, the dog transitioned from wolf to domestic dog 130,000 years ago. Molecular evidence now shows that the dog is indeed a direct descendent of the gray wolf, also know as Canis lupus. Dogs are smaller than gray wolves. They have shorter muzzle and smaller teeth. It is believed that dogs went