By Tamaria Alexander |
Contributor
Fun fact: There is a national day dedicated to anthropology. World Anthropology Day, held on Feb. 21, brings awareness to this form of scientific study and all that it has to offer. Augusta University hosted a guest speaker, David Howe, in honor of World Anthropology Day. The topic of his Ted Talk focused on the history of dogs and their domestication.
The term dog here refers to the familiar house dog that we all know and love. However, all dogs are genetic descendants of the grey wolf. Grey wolves, or canis lupus, have been around as long as, if not longer than, human beings. Howe discussed a few of the various theories about how the grey wolf became domesticated: symbolic mutualism, artificial selection and the Pinocchio hypothesis. These theories connect to research done by Dmitry Belyayev, a Russian geneticist known for his Siberian fox experiments. Belyayev’s experiments resulted in purposeful breeding for desired traits, a common occurrence in the domestication of dogs today. One of these traits was not being fearful of human beings.
Domestication is also a real-world example of how interesting anthropology can be. Dogs represent a human creation. Howe suggested that dogs are a tool, just as a spear or an arrow, because humans created a calmer, friendlier, less scary version of the grey wolf. Dogs are also a great subject to study through the various lenses of anthropology. For example, by looking through the lens of cultural anthropology, we discover that grey wolves and humans have a lot in common. They both participate in complex social groups, monogamy and hunting strategies.
Howe also explained the affectionate reaction that comes with seeing a dog. Oxytocin, also referred to as the "love hormone," is released in our brain at the sight of a dog. The release of oxytocin can cause "mother-ese." This term, coined by an anthropologist, refers to the baby talk effect that occurs when we see babies, puppies or anything that we consider to be cute.
Besides his informative speech about man’s best friend, Howe also shared some details of his current job. He works as assistant manager of the Veterans Curation Program in Augusta. This program aids veterans in building a resume after active duty. By working alongside archaeologists and anthropologists, veterans can learn various soft skills while assisting in tasks such as documentation, photography and classification.