与羊、山羊、牛和猪在距今11,000—9,000年间的农业转型期被驯化、以及猫仅约4,000年前才被驯化相比，狗与人的关系要早得多。德国波恩-奥伯卡塞尔的合葬犬类埋葬超过14,000年之久，遗传证据还指向美洲的前哥伦布犬与一位生活在23,000年前的共同祖先相连，而犬类在约15,000年前从西伯利亚跨入阿拉斯加并迅速扩散到全球。

对驯化机制的量化线索强调了食物与“最友善者生存”：估计全球约7亿只狗中有一半或更多通过在人类聚落附近拾荒谋生。行为学实验还显示差异之大：驯服狼往往需要数周持续投入，而狗幼崽只需约90分钟的人类关注就能学会与人相处；另有“十代即可选育温顺”的狐狸实验虽曾被广泛引用，但其速度结论因可能存在更早育种遗传背景而受到质疑。

在后续的人为选择中，犬类在距今9,500年的西伯利亚佐霍夫岛雪橇犬遗存，以及距今8,000—9,000年的沙特岩刻猎犬图像中已显现专门化，并在1859年首届英国狗展之后被加速放大到英国皇家犬业俱乐部认可的225个品种。20世纪又新增了1916年的导盲犬与1970年代的助听犬等功能分化，而宠物化也在增长：美国约一半家庭（约6,500万户）养狗，使狗粮成为数十亿美元产业，并在部分品种中伴随与斑点、短肢和扁脸相关的健康代价。

Compared with sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs domesticated 11,000–9,000 years ago during the shift to agriculture—and cats only about 4,000 years ago—the dog–human bond is far older. A joint burial at Bonn-Oberkassel in Germany is over 14,000 years old, genetic evidence links pre-Columbian American dogs to an ancestor living 23,000 years ago, and dogs reached North America about 15,000 years ago before spreading worldwide.

Quantitative clues to domestication emphasize food and “survival of the friendliest”: estimates suggest half or more of the planet’s roughly 700m dogs make a living by scavenging near human settlements. Experiments also show a stark behavioral gap—taming a wolf can take weeks of constant attention, while a dog pup needs about 90 minutes of human attention to learn to get along with people—and the famous “ten generations to tame” fox work is questioned because earlier breeding history may have preloaded genetic change.

Later, deliberate selection becomes visible in specialized roles, from 9,500-year-old sled-dog remains on Siberia’s Zhokhov island to 8,000–9,000-year-old hunting-dog rock art in Saudi Arabia, then accelerates with the first British dog show in 1859 and today’s 225 breeds recognized by the UK Royal Kennel Club. The 20th century added assistance roles such as guide dogs in 1916 and hearing dogs in the 1970s, while pet ownership also rose—about half of US households (65m) include a dog, supporting a multi-billion-dollar dog-food industry and, in some breeds, health costs tied to spots, short legs, and flat faces.

Source: How wolves became dogs

Subtitle: The strange symbiosis between two hyper-predators: humans and hounds

Dateline: 12月 18, 2025 05:43 上午