Human-canid relationship in the Americas: an examination of canid biological attributes and domestication

Segura, Valentina; Sánchez‐Villagra, Marcelo R.

doi:10.1007/s42991-021-00129-y

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…As important as these are, studies have shown that cultural perspectives are more likely to explain the lack or low number of domestic species in some regions of the world (Descola, 1994 ). Some South American canids fulfill the criteria for becoming domesticated but they have not been domesticated (Segura & Sánchez-Villagra, 2021 ). Likewise, multidisciplinary teams have explained how a dog-centred perspective can provide an insightful view to understand human cultural transformation and health in history (Sykes et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: On Ontologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Claude Lévi-Strauss as a humanist forerunner of cultural macroevolution studies

Sánchez‐Villagra

2022

Evolut. Hum. Sci.

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Cross-cultural studies of humans using methods developed in evolutionary biology and comparative linguistics are flourishing. ‘Cultural macroevolution’ has great potential to address fundamental questions of cultural transformation and human history. But this field is poorly integrated with core cultural anthropology, although both aim in part at addressing similar issues. Claude Lévi-Strauss established a comparative approach searching for universals and documentation of diversity to bring understanding to cultural phenomena. Recognizing the nomothetic nature of Lévi-Strauss’ work, his abstraction and modeling, provides an example within anthropology of the search for universals and the study of big data, akin to cultural macroevolution studies. The latter could benefit, beyond the sophisticated analyses of big data mined from ethnographic work, from the integration with the intellectual legacy and practice of core anthropology and thus propitiate the synergistic interaction of disciplines. Attempts of rapprochement of disciplines from the natural sciences that lack pluralism and present a narrow view are deemed examples of ‘Wilson's effect’.

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Section: On Ontologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Claude Lévi-Strauss as a humanist forerunner of cultural macroevolution studies

Sánchez‐Villagra

2022

Evolut. Hum. Sci.

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“…South America is home to a large diversity of canids that encompasses 11 extant species: Atelocynus microtis, Cerdocyon thous, Chrysocyon brachyurus, Speothos venaticus, Urocyon cinereoargenteus and six species belonging to the genus Lycalopex [1][2][3][4]. Additionally, two now-extinct canid species once inhabited this area: Dusicyon avus and Dusicyon australis, the latter of which is commonly known as the Falkland/Malvinas Islands' wolf and is exclusively found on these islands [1,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the various wild canid species, D. avus shows the most robust evidence of interaction with prehistoric societies in the Southern Cone. Numerous archaeological records of this extinct fox are associated with human occupations [ 5 , 37 , 42 – 45 ], suggesting significant and distinctive symbolic connections between both species [ 4 , 7 , 37 , 43 , 44 , 46 ]. For instance, at the Loma de los Muertos site, an individual was buried individually in a mortuary area and interpreted as a pet [ 44 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patagonian partnerships: the extinct Dusicyon avus and its interaction with prehistoric human communities

Abbona,

Lebrasseur,

Prevosti

et al. 2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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The southern Mendoza province, located in the northern region of Patagonia, was inhabited by hunter-gatherer groups until historic times. Previous archaeological studies have reported canid remains among faunal assemblages, which were assumed to be part of the human diet. However, the taxonomic identification and significance of these canids within human groups have raised questions. In this study, we used ancient DNA analysis, morphological examination and stable isotope analysis (δ 13 C col and δ 15 N) to re-evaluate the taxonomic assignment of a canid discovered at the Late Holocene burial site of Cañada Seca. Previous morphological identifications suggested that it belonged to the genus Lycalopex , but our results conclusively demonstrate that the individual belongs to the extinct fox species Dusicyon avus . This finding expands Dusicyon avus’ known geographical distribution to Patagonia’s northern extremity. Furthermore, statistical predictions based on genetic divergence undermine the hypothesis that hybridization between Canis and Dusicyon , facilitated by the introduction of domestic dogs, played a role in the extinction of Dusicyon species. On the other hand, our findings indicate that a Dusicyon avus individual shared a similar diet and was probably buried alongside humans, suggesting a close relationship between the two species during their lives and deaths.

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“…Beyond all the commonly discussed factors in the literature (Segura & Sánchez-Villagra, 2021), ontogenetic preconditions appear as an underscored factor to understand an animal's biological potency to be domesticated. We expect the embryos of the precocial domesticated ungulates to be generally more mature (i.e., developing earlier in the scaled ontogenetic trajectory) than the altricial carnivorans.…”

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confidence: 99%

Comparative embryogenesis in ungulate domesticated species

Schlindwein

Werneburg

2022

J Exp Zool Pt B

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We compared embryogenesis of five species of domesticated even‐toed and one odd‐toed ungulate and used a phylogenetic framework to contextualize such comparison. Organ systems that occur relatively earlier in embryogenesis generally have more time to develop and therefore are found to be more mature at birth when compared to structures that appear later in development. We hypothesized that the less mature the animals' organs are at birth, the more they are susceptible to artificial selection. The horse had the most mature organs at birth, followed by cattle, reindeer, sheep/goat, and pig. This pattern of maturity could be observed almost during the entire development. Heterochronic shifts among species were observed only after fur starts to develop. Changes in the fur coloration are one of the first observable signs of domestication and the heterochrony of this trait may be related to the effects on neural crest‐derived pigment cells by artificial selection. The six ungulate species also differ in the relative duration of their weaning period and the potential extent of its artificial shortening. We put all these traits in the context of their inherited evolutionary characteristics and artificial domestication process. Related to their altriciality, carnivoran domesticates, which also belong to Scrotifera, are less mature at birth than all domesticated ungulates. Although we detected clear character correlations to life history traits, it is impossible based on the present data, to trace specific exaptations to the domestication process. We hypothesize a deep time developmental penetration of adult characters into embryogenesis.

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Human-canid relationship in the Americas: an examination of canid biological attributes and domestication

Cited by 6 publications

References 69 publications

Claude Lévi-Strauss as a humanist forerunner of cultural macroevolution studies

Claude Lévi-Strauss as a humanist forerunner of cultural macroevolution studies

Patagonian partnerships: the extinct Dusicyon avus and its interaction with prehistoric human communities

Comparative embryogenesis in ungulate domesticated species

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