Dogs and Humans

Paper Summary:

This paper traces the relationship between man and dogs from pre-historic to modern times. The paper first discusses recent discoveries that have disproved assumptions about the first domesticated dogs. The paper also explores the various functions dogs served in different cultures, from hunting, guarding and more recently as pets and companions. The paper includes a section on how dogs have been portrayed in literature. An annotated bibliography is included with the paper.

From the Paper:

"Dogs also were valuable as sentries, and were important in transport, both for pack saddles in the Plains areas, and for dog-drawn sleds used by the Mandan in the north. The Plains Indians had a device called the "travois," Fiedel writes, which was made of two long poles attached at the dog's shoulders, "with the butt ends dragging behind the animal; midway, a ladder-like frame, or a hoop made of plaited thongs, was stretched between the poles, and could carry a load up to sixty pounds or more. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fiedel, Stuart J. "Man's best friend - mammoth's worst enemy? A speculative essay on the role Of dogs in Paleoindian colonization and megafaunal extinction." World Archaeology 37.1 (2005): 11-25.
• Morey, Darcy F.; & Aaris-Sorensen, Kim. "Paleoeskimo dogs of Eastern Arctic." Arctic 55.1 (2001): 44-56.
• Rogers, Katharine M. First Friend: A History of Dogs & Humans. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005.
• Trut, Lyudmila N. "Early Canid Domestication: The Farm-Fox Experiment." American Scientist Vol. 87 (1999): 160-169.
• Wyett, Jodi L. "The Lap of Luxury: Lapdogs, Literature, and Social Meaning in the 'Long' Eighteenth Century." LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory 10.4 (2000): 275-302.

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