1222: Untangling The History Of Dog Domestication

All the pups we love—from chihuahuas to great danes—are descendants of the mighty gray wolf. But how did we end up with so many breeds? The story that's often told is that dog diversity really took off with the Victorians in the 1800s, but new research is unleashing a different tale. Host Flora Lichtman talks with bioarchaeologist Carly Ameen about the diversification of dogs. Plus, a long-running experiment to tame silver foxes is cluing us into how domestication happens. Canine researcher Erin Hecht gives us a glimpse into the experiment and what it tells us about domesticated brains.Guests:Dr. Carly Ameen is a bioarcheologist and lecturer at the University of Exeter in England.Dr. Erin Hecht is an evolutionary biologist at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.