A brief history of dogs - David Ian Howe

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Carol Wang

Since their emergence over 200,000 years ago,

自從二十多萬年前 現代人出現以來，

modern humans have established homes and communities all over the planet.

便在地球各地建立家園和社區。

But they didn’t do it alone.

但他們並非獨立完成。

Whatever corner of the globe you find homo sapiens in today,

現今，不論你在世界的 哪個角落發現了人類，

you’re likely to find another species nearby:

你很有可能也會在附近 發現另一種物種：

Canis lupus familiaris.

犬類。

Whether they’re herding, hunting, sledding, or slouching

牠們會畜牧、打獵、拉雪橇， 或無精打采地閒逛，

the sheer variety of domestic dogs is staggering.

家犬的種類多到十分驚人。

But what makes the story of man’s best friend so surprising

但，身為人類最好的朋友， 狗的故事很讓人驚奇的是，

is that they all evolved from a creature

牠們都是從一種動物演化來的，

often seen as one of our oldest rivals:

這種生物通常被認為 是我們最古老的對手：

Canis lupus, or the gray wolf.

灰狼。

When our Paleolithic ancestors first settled Eurasia roughly 100,000 years ago,

約十萬年前，我們舊石器時代的 祖先最早在歐亞大陸定居，

wolves were one of their main rivals at the top of the food chain.

那時，狼是他們 同在食物鏈頂端的主要對手。

Able to exert over 300 lbs. of pressure in one bone-crushing bite

狼的咬力超過三百磅， 足以咬碎骨頭，

and sniff out prey more than a mile away,

且在一英哩以外就能聞到獵物，

these formidable predators didn’t have much competition.

沒有多少動物能與這種 令人畏懼的捕食者競爭。

Much like human hunter-gatherers,

很像人類的群獵者們，

they lived and hunted in complex social groups

牠們會組成複雜的 社會群體來生活和捕食，

consisting of a few nuclear families,

群體由幾個核心家庭組成，

and used their social skills to cooperatively take down larger creatures.

牠們會用群體的技能 來合作獵取更大的動物。

Using these group tactics,

用這些團體戰略，

they operated as effective persistence hunters,

牠們像執著高效的獵人那樣運作，

relying not on outrunning their prey,

仰賴的不是跑得比獵物快，

but pursuing it to the point of exhaustion.

而是一直追趕獵物， 直到獵物累得跑不動爲止。

But when pitted against the similar strengths of their invasive new neighbors,

但，當與牠們實力相當的 侵略性新鄰居（人）較量時，

wolves found themselves at a crossroads.

狼發現自己遇到重大的抉擇。

For most packs,

對大部分群體而言， 這些快速發展的兩足動物，

these bourgeoning bipeds represented a serious threat to their territory.

對牠們的領土是嚴重的威脅。

But for some wolves,

但，對某些狼而言，

especially those without a pack,

特別是不跟群的狼，

human camps offered new opportunities.

人類的營地提供了新的機會。

Wolves that showed less aggression towards humans

對人類展現出較少侵略行為的狼，

could come closer to their encampments,

可以比較接近人類的紮營處，

feeding on leftovers.

吃人類吃剩的食物。

And as these more docile scavengers outlasted their aggressive brethren,

當這些更溫順的撿剩食者 活得比其侵略性的同類更久時，

their genetic traits were passed on,

牠們的基因特質就會傳下去，

gradually breeding tamer wolves in areas near human populations.

在人類族群附近的地區， 漸漸繁殖出更溫馴的狼。

Over time humans found a multitude of uses for these docile wolves.

隨時間推移，人類發現了 這些溫順的狼有許多用途。

They helped to track and hunt prey,

牠們能協助追蹤和捕捉獵物，

and might have served as sentinels to guard camps

還可以當衛兵來看守營地，

and warn of approaching enemies.

在有敵人靠近時發出警告。

Their similar social structure made it easy to integrate with human families

牠們與人類類似的社會結構， 使其很容易和人類家庭融合，

and learn to understand their commands.

並學習了解人類的指令。

Eventually they moved from the fringes of our communities into our homes,

最終，牠們從人類社區的邊緣， 搬進了人類的家中，

becoming humanity’s first domesticated animal.

成為人類最早馴服的動物。

The earliest of these Proto-Dogs or Wolf-Dogs,

這些最早期的原始狗或狼狗

seem to have appeared around 33,000 years ago,

似乎是在三萬三千年前出現的，

and would not have looked all that different from their wild cousins.

在外觀上，和牠們的野外近親 看起來沒有太大的不同。

They were primarily distinguished by their smaller size

主要的區別方式 是牠們的體型較小，

and a shorter snout full of comparatively smaller teeth.

鼻子較短，牙齒也相對較小。

But as human cultures and occupations became more diverse and specialized,

但，隨著人類文化和職業 變得更多樣化和專門化，

so did our friends.

我們的朋友也同樣改變了。

Short stocky dogs to herd livestock by nipping their heels;

矮胖結實的狗會去咬 家畜的腳跟來協助畜牧；

elongated dogs to flush badgers and foxes out of burrows;

長型的狗會把獾和狐狸 從藏身處趕出來；

thin and sleek dogs for racing;

又瘦又光滑的狗可以賽跑；

and large, muscular dogs for guard duty.

大型強壯的狗負責看守工作。

With the emergence of kennel clubs and dog shows during England’s Victorian era,

在英國維多利亞時期出現了 養狗俱樂部和狗展，

these dog types were standardized into breeds,

此時，狗的類型 被標準化為不同品種，

with many new ones bred purely for appearance.

有許多新品種被繁殖出來， 單純是為了外觀。

Sadly, while all dog breeds are the product of artificial selection,

不幸的是，雖然所有的狗類品種 都是人工選擇的產物，

some are healthier than others.

有的品種卻比其他品種更健康。

Many of these aesthetic characteristics come with congenital health problems,

許多美學上的特徵反而 會伴隨先天的健康問題，

such as difficulty breathing or being prone to spinal injuries.

比如呼吸困難，或脊椎容易受傷。

Humanity’s longest experiment in controlled evolution

這項人類在控制演化上 所做的最長實驗，

has had other side effects as well.

它還帶來了其他副作用。

Generations of selection for tameness

經過數世代針對溫馴來做篩選，

have favored more juvenile and submissive traits

人類偏愛的活潑可愛和順從特質

that were pleasing to humans.

被保留了下來。

This phenomenon of selecting traits associated with youth is known as neoteny,

這種篩選年幼有關特質的現象， 就是一般所知的「幼態持續」，

and can be seen in many domestic animals.

在許多家畜身上都可以看到。

Thousands of years of co-evolution may even have bonded us chemically.

數千年的共同演化，可能 也讓我們在化學上結合在一起。

Not only can canines understand our emotions and body language,

犬科動物不僅能了解 我們的情緒和肢體語言，

but when dogs and humans interact,

且當狗和人互動時，

both our bodies release oxytocin;

雙方的身體都會釋放出「催產素」；

a hormone commonly associated with feelings of love and protectiveness.

這是一種荷爾蒙， 和愛及保護的感覺有關。

It might be difficult to fathom how every Pomeranian, Chihuahua, and Poodle

很難推測出博美狗、 吉娃娃、貴賓狗怎麼會是

are descended from fierce wolves.

讓人畏懼的狼的後代。

But the diversity of breeds today is the result of a relationship

但現今這麼多樣性的品種， 是一種關係產生的結果。

that precedes cities, agriculture,

這種關係出現的時間 早於城市、農業，

and even the disappearance of our Neanderthal cousins.

甚至比我們的近親 穴居人的消失時間還早。

And it’s heartening to know

很令人振奮的一點是，

that given enough time,

只要有足夠的時間，

even our most dangerous rivals can become our fiercest friends.

即使是我們最危險的對手， 也有可能變成我們最兇猛的朋友。