Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Dogs
A Natural History
Jake Page
2007
This is a natural science book about the evolution and breeding of dogs.
What was more unlikely, that I would come to like dogs, or that I would come to really like researching dog ancestry. The history of dog breeding explains a lot about the current dog. Dogs started in Asia, probably China, form wolves, but only a few wolves. Almost every dog in the word is descended form 3 or 4 dogs in Asia some 15 000 years ago. Dogs may have been domesticated by humans so we could benefit. Dogs may have domesticated themselves, evolution figuring that it was a safe bet in terms of species survival to get close and cuddly with humans. What a fascinating thought. Kind of reminds me of the mice in Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy. Also, the first dogs came into contact with humans by prowling around garbage at the edge of settlements. The ones who didn't run away when shooed became the good candidates for domestication. The ones who ran away stayed wolves. No wonder dogs are so persistent whe eating garbage. That's why we picked them in the first place! So many ideas, so fascinating. I will read more.
A Natural History
Jake Page
2007
This is a natural science book about the evolution and breeding of dogs.
What was more unlikely, that I would come to like dogs, or that I would come to really like researching dog ancestry. The history of dog breeding explains a lot about the current dog. Dogs started in Asia, probably China, form wolves, but only a few wolves. Almost every dog in the word is descended form 3 or 4 dogs in Asia some 15 000 years ago. Dogs may have been domesticated by humans so we could benefit. Dogs may have domesticated themselves, evolution figuring that it was a safe bet in terms of species survival to get close and cuddly with humans. What a fascinating thought. Kind of reminds me of the mice in Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy. Also, the first dogs came into contact with humans by prowling around garbage at the edge of settlements. The ones who didn't run away when shooed became the good candidates for domestication. The ones who ran away stayed wolves. No wonder dogs are so persistent whe eating garbage. That's why we picked them in the first place! So many ideas, so fascinating. I will read more.
# posted by mz @ 4:56 PM 
