2021-11-02, 19:39
I see this thread's pretty old, but it's a fascinating article! Good discussion too, and I'd like to pitch in with a relevant theory from some anthopologists, which I believe partly explains why there are so many wolf therians. For more detail, check out Temple Grandin's book Animals in Translation; it's great reading. Basically, early humans didn't just domesticate wolves, the wolves helped 'domesticate' early humans.
Compare human social behavior to other primates, then compare it to wolves: Most primates don't have complex social structures, mate for life, make friends outside the family, hunt in groups, or defend territory. Wolves do all of these. Humans seem to have started doing a lot of these things after they started associating with wolves (which, based on DNA evidence, is probably much earlier than previously assumed). First they observed wolves and stole food from them, and eventually ended up taming some; and along the way the humans learned to think more like the wolves they were hanging around. A lot of these behaviors are fundamental things that shaped the way humans and society evolved.
I think it's no coincidence that so many ancient cultures around the world had stories about wolves being parents or teachers to humanity. Our species are intertwined much further than just humans turning wolves into dogs - we actually co-evolved together. So, part of the reason there are so many wolf therians may be down to culture (which is also rooted in our shared history), but I think another big factor is that humans are already more wolf-like than they realize.
Compare human social behavior to other primates, then compare it to wolves: Most primates don't have complex social structures, mate for life, make friends outside the family, hunt in groups, or defend territory. Wolves do all of these. Humans seem to have started doing a lot of these things after they started associating with wolves (which, based on DNA evidence, is probably much earlier than previously assumed). First they observed wolves and stole food from them, and eventually ended up taming some; and along the way the humans learned to think more like the wolves they were hanging around. A lot of these behaviors are fundamental things that shaped the way humans and society evolved.
I think it's no coincidence that so many ancient cultures around the world had stories about wolves being parents or teachers to humanity. Our species are intertwined much further than just humans turning wolves into dogs - we actually co-evolved together. So, part of the reason there are so many wolf therians may be down to culture (which is also rooted in our shared history), but I think another big factor is that humans are already more wolf-like than they realize.