Humans have been domesticating dog forat least 14,000 years , most belike longer , and we ’ve been best pal ever since . This tight bond is particularly evident in the Neolithic the great unwashed of the Iberian Peninsula who loved their dogs , quite literally , to last .
archeologist have recently excavated a number of 6,000 - year - old graves near present - twenty-four hours Barcelona that contain the skeletal corpse of at least 26 dogs in total . The unusual collecting of remains hint that the dogs were close associate of their man . So nigh , in fact , they were perhaps killed so they could hang out with their possessor in the hereafter .
As cover in theJournal of Archaeological Science : Reports , an depth psychology of the bonesrevealed some curious characteristics of the dogs . anatomic analytic thinking of their bones suggested they were no older than six years old when they die and many were just puppies as untried as one year of age . This could have advise that the dog-iron were being use up , however , their bones point no preindication of slashed marks or butcher .
“ select young beast aged up to one year old suggest there was an intention in the ritual killing . Although we can think it was for human white plague , the fact that these were forget near man suggests there was an intention and a direct relative with death and the funerary rite , " first writer Silvia Albizuri , a research worker at the University of Barcelona , said in astatement .
moreover , the frankfurter appear to have eaten a diet like to their human companions . Their close propinquity to human settlements shows that these hounds were an inseparable part of daily life history for Neolithic communities in the Iberian Peninsula . They appear to have been extremely regarded and respected brute . It ’s also worth mark that the blackguard seem to be very alike in terms of animalism , hint “ a certain control condition in the gentility ” to foster desirable traits .
“ These information show a close coexistence between dogs and mankind , and in all probability , a specific provision of their sustenance , which is clear in the cases of a dieting establish on vegetables , " tot up researcher Eulàlia Subirà . " They would probably do so to find a better control of their tasks on certificate and to lay aside the time they would have to drop looking for food . This management would explicate the homogeneity of the size of the beast . ”
As such , it ’s believed the pawl might have been sacrificed , most likely so their proprietor could keep them as associate in the hereafter .
The field of study reason , “ Perhaps this life family relationship eventually release them into ' companions ' in last or symbolic representation in ritual . ”
