Did humans hunt mammoths using dogs?
A new study from Penn State University is putting forward the theory that humans used dogs to hunt mammoths, and this early domestication of dogs could have greatly benefited our development. ...
A new study from Penn State University is putting forward the theory that humans used dogs to hunt mammoths, and this early domestication of dogs could have greatly benefited our development.
Paleoanthropologist and retired Penn State University Professor of Anthropology, Pat Shipman, is behind the research. She has been looking at the large collection of mammoth remains in Europe and was particularly struck by the number of mammoth specimens and the mammoth bone huts you can see in these sites.
Professor Shipman believes that these mammoths were killed for food and demonstrate an increase in our hunting ability. Professor Shipman thinks that improvement was hunting with dogs.
Maps of location of mammoth bone sites in Europe (Credit: Jeffrey Mathison)
Professor Shipman tells guest host Laura Lynch recent research that shows our domestication of dogs was earlier than first thought. Professor Shipman says the kill rate would have increased, which would have meant more food, and this dog domestication would have also allowed humans to stay longer in one place.
Collection of mammoth bones at the Krakow-Spadzista Street archaeological site in Poland. (Photo credit: Piotr Wojtal)
She believes humans could have been living at these sites for considerable lengths of time and dogs would have been a good way to guard these sites. She tells Laura early humans would not have wanted to live near kills unless there was a way they were protected, because the carcasses would attract predators.
You can hear more of Laura's interview with paleoanthropologist Professor Pat Shipman by clicking on the 'Listen' icon above.
Professor Shipman believes that these mammoths were killed for food and demonstrate an increase in our hunting ability. Professor Shipman thinks that improvement was hunting with dogs.
Maps of location of mammoth bone sites in Europe (Credit: Jeffrey Mathison)
Professor Shipman tells guest host Laura Lynch recent research that shows our domestication of dogs was earlier than first thought. Professor Shipman says the kill rate would have increased, which would have meant more food, and this dog domestication would have also allowed humans to stay longer in one place.
Collection of mammoth bones at the Krakow-Spadzista Street archaeological site in Poland. (Photo credit: Piotr Wojtal)
She believes humans could have been living at these sites for considerable lengths of time and dogs would have been a good way to guard these sites. She tells Laura early humans would not have wanted to live near kills unless there was a way they were protected, because the carcasses would attract predators.
You can hear more of Laura's interview with paleoanthropologist Professor Pat Shipman by clicking on the 'Listen' icon above.