Not long ago, one was discovered in Argentina prehistoric grave which offers a new understanding of the relationships between man and animals in ancient times. In this burial, a person is accompanied not by a dog, as one might think, but by a different animal.
The discovery
the DNA analysis they revealed that the animal buried next to the man belonged to an extinct species Dusicyon’s grandfathera fox has lived since the Pleistocene (2.6 million – 11,700 years ago) toHolocene, which went extinct about 500 years ago. it Fox it is about the size of a modern German shepherd. In addition, no injuries were found on the bone, indicating that the animal was not killed for food.
I’m studying
The results of studio published in an article titled “Patagonian partnerships: the extinct Dusicyon avus and its interaction with prehistoric human communities“in the magazine The Royal Society Open Science. The analyzes suggest a close relationship between the fox and prehistoric human communities, which is also emphasized by animal food. This suggests that the the fox is fed by the community or that it lives near human settlements, eating their excrement.
Implications of the discovery
These results support the idea that the the fox is domesticated and kept as a pet. This discovery adds to other evidence collected from tombs in different parts of the world. For example, in a tomb of the Bronze Age in the Iberian Peninsula, they were found dogs and wolves buried next to people. The arrangement of the animals shows that they were considered as companions of the people.
The discovery of a prehistoric burial in Argentina and related scientific analyzes offer new insights into the relationship between man and beast beforeand indicates that the wolf was probably one of the first animals to be fed and considered friends of man.