ONCE UPON A TIME IN JORDAN, FOX WAS TOP DOG
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PTI
The Pioneer
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Washington - It seems that man domesticated foxes before dogs became
his best friend. Their relationship was so strong that the animals
were even buried along their masters' graves, according to a study of
a prehistoric cemetery found in the Middle East.
The discovery, researchers say, could shed light on the nature and
timing of newly developing relationships between people and beasts,
before animals were domesticated. It also hints at the fact that key
aspects of ancient practices surrounding death might have originated
earlier than thought.
The researchers found remains of foxes along with humans in a 16,500-
year-old burial ground, known as Uyun al-Hammam, in Wadi Ziqlab of
northern Jordan in 2000.
Researcher Lisa Maher, an archaeologist of the prehistoric at the
University of Cambridge, said it seems the fox was treated in a
special way, different from any other animal, at that time. "We think
this represents a significant social relationship, something that
clearly goes far beyond the domestication of animals as livestock,"
Maher told LiveScience.
Uyun al-Hammam dates back to just before the emergence of the
Natufian culture, known to be farming wild cereals such as wheat,
barley and oats. These communities dwelled 11,600 to 14,500 years ago
in the region and were known to bury people with dogs. However, the
discovery at Uyun al-Hammam shows that some of these practices took
place earlier with a different animal -- the fox.
From the site, researchers found human skeletons along with artifacts
such as stone tools, a bone spoon and bone dagger, red ochre and an
iron mineral. Other things they found at the site were the remains of
red foxes, suggesting that the animals were buried with their masters
to accompany them in their afterlife.
Although foxes are relatively easy to tame, domesticating them might
have failed because of their skittish and timid nature, according to
scientists. This might explain why dogs ultimately achieved 'man's
best friend' status instead.
However, fox symbolism and its remains are quite common in later
Stone Age sites, both in domestic and burial contexts, "so even when
other animals were domesticated, prehistoric people maintained an
interest in the fox," said Maher.
However, the graves at the Jordan site do contain the remains of
other kinds of animals, so "we can only take the fox-dog analogy so
far," said researcher Edward Banning at the University of Toronto.
The scientists detailed their findings in the journal PLoS ONE.
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