Self-domestication or human control? The Upper Palaeolithic domestication of the wolf

The dog is the only species that was domesticated before the origin of agriculture, when human populations were living as hunter-gatherers. Two main scenarios explain the early domestication of the wolf. They can be summarized as follows. The self-domestication model considers that fossil wolves were attracted to prehistoric garbage dumps at human settlements. Some wolves adapted to the human niche, resulting in a commensal relationship. Gradually, the first primitive dogs emerged from this group. The human-control model proposes that Upper Palaeolithic peoples adopted wolf pups and let the most docile ones mate. After several generations of selection for docile behaviour, primitive dogs ensued. We offer critique on the self-domestication model and are supportive of the human-control model. We think that Upper Palaeolithic humans brought wolves to their campsites in many regions of Northern Eurasia. The selection for friendly behaviour among the captive canids that led to the development of a reciprocal relationship could have been repeated several times. We propose that the adoption of wolf pups to obtain access to their products (e.g. company, fur, meat/brain for ritual consumption) could have been a first stepping stone on the path to the domestication of the wolf. The early beginnings of this process can be situated in the framework of an animated worldview of some Upper Palaeolithic societies.