The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People
Historical sources and Indigenous oral traditions indicate that Australian Aboriginal people commonly reared and kept the wild-caught pups of dingoes (<i>C. dingo</i>) as tamed companion animals. A review of the available evidence suggests Indigenous communities employed an intense socia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2285 |
| _version_ | 1797496674292072448 |
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| author | Adam Brumm Loukas Koungoulos |
| author_facet | Adam Brumm Loukas Koungoulos |
| author_sort | Adam Brumm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Historical sources and Indigenous oral traditions indicate that Australian Aboriginal people commonly reared and kept the wild-caught pups of dingoes (<i>C. dingo</i>) as tamed companion animals. A review of the available evidence suggests Indigenous communities employed an intense socialisation process that forged close personal bonds between humans and their tame dingoes from an early age. This was complemented by oral traditions which passed down awareness of the dangers to children posed by wild or unfamiliar dingoes, and which communicated the importance of treating dingoes with respect. Together, these practices resulted in what can be interpreted as substantially altered behaviours in tamed dingoes, which, despite their naturally high prey drive, were not considered a serious threat to children and were thus able to be maintained as companion animals in the long term. This relationship is of importance for understanding the original domestication of the dog, as it demonstrates a means by which careful and deliberate socialisation by foragers could both manage risks to children’s safety posed by keeping wild canids in the domestic realm and retain them well into reproductive maturity—both issues which have been highlighted as obstacles to the domestication of dogs from wolves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:06:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d092a69254384c0f8220115657458808 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:06:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-d092a69254384c0f82201156574588082023-11-23T12:38:24ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-09-011217228510.3390/ani12172285The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal PeopleAdam Brumm0Loukas Koungoulos1Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Brisbane, QLD 4111, AustraliaSchool of Humanities, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaHistorical sources and Indigenous oral traditions indicate that Australian Aboriginal people commonly reared and kept the wild-caught pups of dingoes (<i>C. dingo</i>) as tamed companion animals. A review of the available evidence suggests Indigenous communities employed an intense socialisation process that forged close personal bonds between humans and their tame dingoes from an early age. This was complemented by oral traditions which passed down awareness of the dangers to children posed by wild or unfamiliar dingoes, and which communicated the importance of treating dingoes with respect. Together, these practices resulted in what can be interpreted as substantially altered behaviours in tamed dingoes, which, despite their naturally high prey drive, were not considered a serious threat to children and were thus able to be maintained as companion animals in the long term. This relationship is of importance for understanding the original domestication of the dog, as it demonstrates a means by which careful and deliberate socialisation by foragers could both manage risks to children’s safety posed by keeping wild canids in the domestic realm and retain them well into reproductive maturity—both issues which have been highlighted as obstacles to the domestication of dogs from wolves.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2285tamed dingosocialisationAustralian Aboriginal culturedomestication |
| spellingShingle | Adam Brumm Loukas Koungoulos The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People Animals tamed dingo socialisation Australian Aboriginal culture domestication |
| title | The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People |
| title_full | The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People |
| title_short | The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People |
| title_sort | role of socialisation in the taming and management of wild dingoes by australian aboriginal people |
| topic | tamed dingo socialisation Australian Aboriginal culture domestication |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2285 |
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