Sristi Raj Rai, Amity University Kolkata
The last time I checked social media, I found a dog driving a modified car with the help of their “hooman’s” instructions. Pets have become an integral part of the Hominidae family. Among all pets, dogs are always the ones leading the chart. With the increasing human population, the population of this domesticated animal has been increasing worldwide. As per a 2017 study, India ranked 6th on the dog population list, topping the same was the USA, followed by China, Russia, Japan, and the Philippines. Did you know the dog population in India is one of the fastest-growing in the world? According to American Kennel Club (AKC), after adding two new breeds in 2020, there are 195 of these carnivores.
Researchers at Washington State University (WSU) tried studying dog-human coevolution via cross-cultural analysis to understand this bond better. They developed three scales to measure it that is: dogs’ utility for humans (DUH), humans’ utility for dogs (HUD), and personhood of dogs (PD). These scales were developed after studying the texts gathered from Human Relations Area Files (HRAF). Evaluation of multiple hypotheses was done based on the data collected by 844 ethnographers across 144 cultures. The group was able to pinpoint the following that got published in the Journal of Ethnobiology:
- Optimum temperatures resulted in a strong and consistent correlation on DUH, HUD, and PD scales. Generally, in warm conditions due to a quick rise in canine’s body temperature and inefficient ways to spend energy, DUH was lesser.
- On all 3 scales, pathogens showed non-linearity, indicating the risk of zoonotic infection.
- Outcomes on all three were positively associated with the adults. Relationships with women had a stronger impact on HUD and personhood as compared to men.
- DUH, HUD and PD were positively aligned with hunting and negatively aligned with food production. Hunting seemed to boost the bond, which in turn resulted in high DUH and PD. Moreover, it was also noticed that hunting dogs unlike herding dogs, depends on a human for their cooperation.
The whole study carried out by Jaime Chambers et al., concludes and supports that the secret to this deeper growing relationship is that, both Homo sapiens and Camis familiaris coevolved and chose each other as mentioned in the evolutionary theories.
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SOURCE – Jaime Chambers, Marsha B. Quinlan, Alexis Evans, Robert J. Quinlan “Dog-Human Coevolution: Cross-Cultural Analysis of Multiple Hypotheses,” Journal of Ethnobiology, 40(4), 414-433, 18 December 2020. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-40.4.414
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