Pre-Neolithic Evidence for Dog-Assisted Hunting Strategies in Arabia

Article Review: “Pre-Neolithic Evidence for Dog-Assisted Hunting Strategies in Arabia”
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Article Review: “Pre-Neolithic Evidence for Dog-Assisted Hunting Strategies in Arabia”
Introduction
The history of domestication and early use is a complex subject that has attracted the attention of numerous archeological scholars. The use of primeval dogs as hunting-aids, however, is not so evident from archaeological archives, and therefore, most analyses have relied on ethnographic evidence and have consequently remained controversial. While it is evident that dogs were the first wildlife to be tamed, and they descended from a grey wolf ancestor that was the first to be domesticated, it is still unclear on the time, locality, and number of taming centers. A lot of research work has pointed to East Asia as the cradle of domestication of dogs (Ding, 2012) while others have suggested Europe (Thalmann et al. 2013), Central Asia (Shannon et al. 2015) and the Levant (vonHoldt et al. 2010). The more recent research proposed multiple domestications in Europe and East Asia (Frantz et al. 2016). The current article under review, Pre-Neolithic Evidence for Dog-Assisted Hunting Strategies in Arabia, analyses the most primitive proof for dogs on the Arabian Peninsula from rock sculpture at the locations of Shuwaymis and Jubbah, in north-west Saudi Arabia.
There is evidence of dog-aided hunting tactics from the hunting extracts portrayed in the rock paintings. These paintings are estimated to be from the 7th and probably the 8th millennium BC, preceding the advent of pastoralism. While the dogs illustrated in the paintings are quite similar to the contemporary Canaan dog, it is still unclear whether they arrived at the Arabian Peninsula from the Levant or are representative of separate domestication of dogs from Arabian wolves. An extensive data set of one hundred and forty-seven hunting scenes depicts dogs taking part in an array of hunting tactics with regards to the environment and the landscape of the hunting location. Of paramount note is the presence of leashes for some dogs, most ancient evidence of leashing. According to the authors, the leashes suggest a high level of regulation over hunting dogs long before the Neolithic era.
Additionally, the leashes suggest that the dogs had specific tasks to perform in the hunting adventures. The researchers also discovered that there was a variance in the number of dogs per engraving between the two sites, this variation was attributed to environmental and topographical variations which necessitated location tailored hunting tactics. In this essay, we review and critique the article Pre-Neolithic Evidence for Dog-Assisted Hunting Strategies in Arabia.
Discussion
Overview of the Research
* Methodology
The authors use the case study methodology to study pre-Neolithic dog representations. The two sites chosen for this study were Jubbah and Shuwaymis in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia. The authors implement qualitative research methodology to study ethnographic evidence of dog representations from before the new Stone Age, from secondary sources.
* Findings
From the two case studies of Shuwaymis and Jubba, it was found that dog depictions are more common and greater in number per site in Shuwaymis. The dataset East Shuwaymis consisted of 204 dog representations. Out of these, the authors attributed 156 dog inscriptions portrayed in 39 separate sites to the early Holocene. Of the early Holocene engravings, 71 are found in groups of more than seven individuals, making 45%. This is in stark contrast to the dog engravings found in Jubbah, where a total of 193 early Holocene dog paintings were studied from 108 different sites. Dog depictions in Jubbah were found to be predominantly in small groups, the largest group containing seven dogs compared to twenty-one dogs in Shuwaymis. The authors suggested the variations in dog numbers was probably a result of the implementation of location-tailored hunting techniques.
* Analysis
The authors implement some techniques to interpret and analyze their results. An inductive, qualitative data analysis approach is implemented to determine relationships in the data. In their analysis and interpretation, the authors draw out patterns from insights to explain certain questions that arise in the course of their discussion. For example, in the article, the researchers build their argument of the existence of complex dog-hunting tactics in the Arabian Peninsula before the new Stone Age using the dog representations at Shuwaymis and Jubbah. They argue that Holocene hunters had so much control over their domesticated dogs that they utilized different dogs to perform different tasks in their expeditions.
Further, they suggest that it is probably the existence of these complex hunting strategies which involved dogs that facilitated the successful repopulation of mainland Saudi Arabia after a long hiatus. According to the authors, the evidence of large hunting dog groups in Shuwaymis, up to 21 dogs, indicates a sustained and probably managed breeding population rather than a one-off incident. In the author’s words, “The phenotypic conformity seen in the depicted dogs alludes to a fairly isolated population with little outside introgression.”
Additionally, after determining variations in dog numbers per scene between the two sites, the authors deduce that the difference is probably a result of differences in environment and topography of the two locations rather than a result of cultural variations. According to the authors, Shuwaymis of the pre-Neolithic era was a wadi surrounded by sandstone escarpments on the north most of the lava fields of the Harrat Khaybar and bordering the Nefud desert to the South. There are no paleolakes in the area which makes its climatic conditions in the early Holocene pretty unpredictable. Droughts were probably a common phenomenon in the area. There are numerous other incidences where the authors draw out patterns in an attempt to answer emerging questions.
On the other hand, in Jubbah, the topography is much more open, and there was a paleolake (evidenced by a satellite image) meaning there was a permanent source of fresh water. Prey species were therefore likely to congregate at drinking points on the edges of the paleolake making easy targets for hunters in this location. According to the authors, this explains why pre-Neolithic hunters in jubbah were depicted in engravings with fewer dog numbers than the dog depictions in Shuwaymis.
The authors go further to suggest that the patterns visible in the rock art of the two sites depict the hunting strategies used in the two sites. According to the authors, in Shuwaymis, large groups of dogs were probably used to drive prey into narrow sections of the wadi where they could be trapped. On the other hand, in Jubbah, the prey could be ambushed at the paleolake with fewer dogs. The authors also explain that the paleolake in Jubbah supported occupation throughout the year and therefore small groups of people could have conducted regular hunting expeditions. On the other hand, in Shuwaymis, regular droughts meant that the area was seasonally occupied and therefore to minimize hunting risk and maximize the returns, more dogs were required.
* Significance
The findings of this research make some significant contributions in two disciplines, anthropology and archaeology. With regards to anthropology, these research plays a large role in our understanding of the beginnings of dog-domestication, dog training, and domestication as a whole. While common knowledge was that domestication is a thing of the new Stone Age, the findings of this research give us some compelling insights to the contrary. The research presents evidence of domesticated dogs in rock art dated way back to the pre-Neolithic era. The researchers then use this evidence to explain some patterns in the behaviors of the humanity of that period. For example, the authors use the evidence of domesticated dogs in the pre-Neolithic era to infer the existence of complex dog-hunting techniques and further to suggest that these advanced control over dogs facilitated the facilitated the successful repopulation of mainland Saudi Arabia which had not been occupied for a long time (Irish, 2005). The variation in the average number of dogs per engraving between the two sites was also interpreted ...