This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Anthropologists seeking to understand human evolution often include primates such as chimps or apes in their studies. But a new review paper by Kyle Smith, a postdoctoral research scholar in NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, argues that an equally informative animal is often right under our noses—the domestic (or family) dog.
The Abstract sat down with Smith to talk about what prompted the study and how humanity's most faithful companion could provide answers to questions around the evolution of human cultures and health. Smith: Anthropology is the study of humans, and as such, it is a very broad field. Evolutionary anthropologists specifically try to understand humans from an evolutionary perspective.
This can include studying how we evolved particular biological adaptations, how we have changed over time and how human culture can also adapt evolutionarily to help us survive. Evolutionary anthropologists are usually focused more on the biological side of what it means to be human, but there is also a lot of overlap with archaeology and cultural anthropology. Smith: Evolutionary anthropologists have a long history of looking to other species in order to understand humans.
Humans are primates, so many anthropologists study our closest relatives (apes and monkeys) to see the similarities and differences we have with them. There is a growing interest in dogs as well, as they live among humans all over the world, and have for a very long time, so they have evolved various similarities to humans. Smith: Dogs have lived alongside humans for at least 14,000 years and probably a lot longer.
In that time, they evolved in various ways to be able to live among humans. Dogs have evolved to be predisposed to form social relationships with humans, so some anthropologists are looking to dogs as a model for understanding the evolution of our communication and behavior. Dogs and humans in particular parts of the world often evolve the same adaptations, such as the ability to live at high altitudes with low oxygen, or to digest certain foods.
When archaeologists find dog skeletons, that can also reveal things about the lives of past humans. Testing their DNA can reveal the human migrations or trade networks that spread dogs around the world, and isotopic tests that reveal what dogs ate can be informative about the diets of past people. Smith: One of the most famous examples of evolution in recent human history is that human populations that consume dairy have evolved the ability to digest lactose as adults.
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