![]() This atypical evolutionary history means that humans have an incomplete ability to digest meat and must rely on exosomatic adaptations to hunt large game. When the larger, large-brained Homo genus appeared, the hominin clade entered the carnivore guild 3. During the Pliocene– Pleistocene transition, some early hominins adapted to scavenging as an important part of foraging activities 4, 5. Humans are unusual carnivores, in that we are primates with ancestors that were herbivores and insectivores, and at the same time prey to larger carnivores. Accordingly, it would be highly likely that prehistoric hunter-gatherers would have killed wolves as ecological competitors rather than tolerated them. During lean times, direct and indirect negative interactions between guild members predominate 3. When resources/game are abundant, different species of carnivores may tolerate each other in a sympatric relationship in which top carnivores provide carcasses for other guild members to scavenge. Humans and wolves belong to the highly competitive large carnivore guild 1, 2. Following this initial period, incipient dogs would have become docile, being utilized in a multitude of ways such as hunting companions, beasts of burden and guards as well as going through many similar evolutionary changes as humans. Our partitioning theory explains how competition may have been ameliorated during the initial phase of dog domestication. Our calculations show that during harsh winters, when game is lean and devoid of fat, Late Pleistocene hunters-gatherers in Eurasia would have a surplus of animal derived protein that could have been shared with incipient dogs. We present here data showing that all the Pleistocene archeological sites with dog or incipient dog remains are from areas that were analogous to subarctic and arctic environments. Contrary to humans, wolves can thrive on lean meat for months. Humans are not fully adapted to a carnivorous diet human consumption of meat is limited by the liver’s capacity to metabolize protein. How could humans possibly have domesticated a competitive species? Here we present a new hypothesis based on food/resource partitioning between humans and incipient domesticated wolves/dogs. They were species competing over resources in partially overlapping ecological niches and capable of killing each other. ![]() Wolves and humans were both persistent, pack hunters of large prey. Dogs ( Canis familiaris) are the first animals to be domesticated by humans and the only ones domesticated by mobile hunter-gatherers. ![]()
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