We know dogs evolved from wolves. We also know those wolves started hanging around near our ancient outposts, feasting on our discarded scraps before eventually making their way into our communities. And our hearts.
A new finding suggests that the relationship wasn’t as smooth as the Disney-like forging of a friendship you’re probably imagining. It was a little messier and probably included an experimental phase to test the waters. It’s all thanks to the discovery of ancient wolf remains on a remote island that doesn’t have native land mammals.
Publishing their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers has uncovered 3,000 to 5,000-year-old wolf remains in Stora Förvar cave. That cave is located on the Swedish island of Stora Karlsö, about 50 miles east of Sweden’s mainland.
The only way to get there is by boat, which means these wolves likely did not wander there themselves. Humans must have brought them along.
A Remote Swedish Island Just Gave Us More Proof Humans and Wolves Coexisted
Genetic analysis confirms the animals were definitely wolves, not early dogs, and all the evidence researchers found suggests that they lived alongside people. They had smaller bodies and were less genetically diverse than today’s wolves.
These are traits we often see in isolated groups or in groups of wolves that spend a lot of time around humans who manicure and curtail their populations. One will’s genome showed less genetic diversity than any ancient will previously studied, a big sign of domestication.
What they ate told the tale, as well. The wolves appear to eaten the same food as the humans did, mostly fish and seals, and may have been cared for when injured. You don’t see this kind of evidence in the remains of predators lurking near settlements. This points to a peaceful, mutually beneficial coexistence between early humans and wolves.
One thing the researchers make clear is that these were not “pets” as we imagine them today. The relationship was deliberate, as evidenced by the fact that early Swedes deliberately brought wolves to the island, fed them, and kept them around. Maybe not necessarily because they were cute, cuddly companions that fill the void in our souls, but perhaps because they were helpful to have around.
I like to think it was maybe a little bit because they were adorable, but so far, there aren’t many research teams looking into whether ancient man thought wolves were cutesy-wootsy little fur babies.
All of this suggests that there may have been a trial period in the relationship between humans and wolves, where humans experimented with keeping wolves around without fully domesticating them, depending on the environment and need.
It’s like we were negotiating a peaceful coexistence between humans and wolves, establishing the first instances of a bond that would strengthen in the centuries to come.
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