European Paleolithic Dogs - Domestic Dogs from Europe

A significant portion of the dog domestication story comes from ancient remains recovered from European archaeological sites dated to the Upper Paleolithic period, beginning about 30,000 years ago. The specific relationship of these dogs to the process of original domestication was in doubt for some years. However, when the complete mitochondrial DNA genome for canids was published in 2013 (Thalmann et al.), those results strongly support the hypothesis that these dogs represent the original domestication event. European Dog Sites Over the past few years, scholars investigating new excavations and old collections from several Upper Paleolithic sites in Europe and Eurasia have continued to find canid skulls which appear to have some aspects related to domestic dogs, while still retaining some wolf-like characteristics. In some of the literature, these are referred to as European Paleolithic (EP) dogs, even though they include some in Eurasia, and they tend to date to just before the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum in Europe, ca 26,500-19,000 calendar years BP (cal BP). The oldest dog skull discovered to date is from Goyet Cave, Belgium. The Goyet cave collections (the site was excavated in the mid-19th century) were examined recently (Germonprà © and colleagues, 2009) and a fossil canid skull was discovered among them. Although there is some confusion as to which level the skull came from, it has been direct-dated by AMS at 31,700 BP. The skull most closely represents prehistoric dogs, rather than wolves. The study examining the Goyet cave also identified what appears to be prehistoric dogs at Chauvet Cave (~26,000 bp) in France and Mezhirich in the Ukraine (ca 15,000 years BP), among others. In 2012, the same scholars (Germonprà © and colleagues 2012) reported on collections from the Gravettian Predmostà ­ cave in the Czech Republic, which contained two more EP dogs dated between 24,000-27,000 BP. One EP dog reported in 2011 (Ovodov and colleagues) was from Razboinichya Cave, or Bandits Cave, in the Altai mountains of Siberia. This site has problematic dates: the same excavation layer returned radiocarbon dates ranging between 15,000-50,000 years. The skull itself has elements of both wolf and dog, and, say scholars, similarities to Goyet, but its dating too is problematic, with AMS dating no more precise than older than 20,000 years. Dog Genome In 2013, the complete dog genome was reported (Thalmann et al.), using complete and partial mitochondrial genomes from 18 prehistoric canids and 20 modern wolves from Eurasia and the Americas. Ancient mtDNA examples included the EP dogs of Goyet, Bonn-Oberkassel and Razboinichya Cave, as well as more recently dated sites of Cerro Lutz in Argentina, and the Koster site in the United States. Results from the ancient mtDNA were then compared to genome sequences from 49 modern wolves, 80 dogs from around the world, and four coyotes. Modern examples of dogs included many breeds, including Dingo, Basenji, and some recently published Chinese indigenous dogs. Results from the genome study support the notion that all modern dogs derive from wolves of European origin, and that that event occurred sometime between 18,800 and 32,100 years ago. The panel points out that the ancient mtDNA studies did not include specimens from the middle east or China, both of which have been proposed as domestication centers. However, neither of these areas have ancient remains older than 13,000 bp. Adding these data to the database might lead to the support of multiple domestication events. Physical Changes If the European domestication event is correct, discussion of the skulls centers on the process of domestication, whether the skulls represent domesticated dogs, or wolves in transition to becoming dogs. Those physical changes seen in the skulls (consisting primarily of the shortening of the snout) may have been driven by changes in diet, rather than specific selection of traits by humans. That transition in diet could well have been partly due to the beginnings of a relationship between humans and dogs, although the relationship might have been as tenuous as animals following human hunters to scavenge. Nevertheless, the transition of a wolf, clearly a dangerous carnivore that you wouldnt want anywhere near your family, into a dog who is both companion and soulmate, is without a doubt a remarkable feat in and of itself. Sources This article is part of the About.com Guide to the History of Animal Domestication. Also see the main Dog Domestication Page for additional information. Germonprà © M, Là ¡znickovà ¡-Galetovà ¡ M, and Sablin MV. 2012. Palaeolithic dog skulls at the Gravettian Predmostà ­ site, the Czech Republic. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(1):184-202. Germonprà © M, Sablin MV, Stevens RE, Hedges REM, Hofreiter M, Stiller M, and Desprà © VR. 2009. Fossil dogs and wolves from Palaeolithic sites in Belgium, the Ukraine and Russia: osteometry, ancient DNA and stable isotopes. Journal of Archaeological Science 36(2):473-490. Ovodov ND, Crockford SJ, Kuzmin YV, Higham TFG, Hodgins GWL, and van der Plicht J. 2011. A 33,000-Year-Old Incipient Dog from the Altai Mountains of Siberia: Evidence of the Earliest Domestication Disrupted by the Last Glacial Maximum. PLoS ONE 6(7):e22821. Open Access Pionnier-Capitan M, Bemilli C, Bodu P, Cà ©là ©rier G, Ferrià © J-G, Fosse P, Garcià   M, and Vigne J-D. 2011. New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(9):2123-2140. Thalmann O, Shapiro B, Cui P, Schuenemann VJ, Sawyer SK, Greenfield DL, Germonprà © MB, Sablin MV, Là ³pez-Girà ¡ldez F, Domingo-Roura X et al. . 2013. Complete mitochondrial genomes of ancient canids suggest a European origin of domestic dogs. Science 342(6160):871-874.

Lessons from Walden Two Essay - 1271 Words

Lessons from Walden Two Walden Two is a novel about a fictional community in present day America. The community is a Utopia of the highest standards: the people are happy and content, there is a minimum of hurtful emotions and activities, and everyone is healthy and prosperous. It is a stark contrast with the world we are living in today. So why dont we change our society to match that of Walden Two, solving all of our nations many problems? For one thing, we do not know if a society patterned after Walden Two will work. Walden Two is a work of fiction; such a society has never been attempted. However, even if such a society has been proven to work perfectly, our society is not prepared for such a radical change. It is human†¦show more content†¦But it is possible to use behavioral engineering in the real world to make these universal beliefs. Logically, without the hindrance of current society, there is no inherent value in being above anyone else. The human sprit craves closeness and friendship; being above someone else sets you apart. The problem is convincing people that this is true, even though they have lived all their lives thinking otherwise. One way of doing this would be to use propaganda - convince people without reason that it is the correct way, the natural way. However, a much more effective way of teaching is to let the people learn for themselves. Make the information of both sides available, and require or strongly recommend analysis of the material by everyone. This is another aspect of Walden Two that can apply to our society - learning. In Walden Two, students do most of their own teaching to themselves by reading the available material and drawing their own conclusions; the only thing they are actually taught are techniques for learning to better facilitate their personal study. However, in our problem with the psychology of a consumer society, propaganda would not be an effective or complete solution. There are many, many people in our society today who are so set in their ways that they would not change at all from assimilating and analyzing the provided information. These people wouldShow MoreRelatedMy First Day As A Educator964 Words   |  4 Pagesteaching couldn’t have been farther from the truth. As I began learning about being a teacher, I began to understand that careful planning, collaboration and reflection was amongst the most important tasks. Being part of this Master’s program has only expanded my understanding of what it means to be an effective educator. I look forward to opportunities for continued learning that will be provided through the duration of this program. Learning Outcomes The Walden University Masters in EducationRead More walden two Essay812 Words   |  4 PagesWalden Two nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In B.F. Skinner’s Walden Two, Skinner presents many positive changes to society in his utopia, such as: division of labor, encouragement of perusing your own interests in education, and absolute equality. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In Walden Two, a member is paid in credits that are required by the society. Each person earns a certain amount of credits per hour for every job they do. Everyone is expected to work to receive 4-6 credits for one day.Read MoreHenry David Thoreau, Walden, and Transcendental Values for Education1000 Words   |  4 PagesHenry David Thoreau was testing transcendental values when he took up residence at Walden Pond in 1845. During his time of simple living at the pond, he studied nature and applied those observations to humans and everyday life. He was always learning from the woods, pond, meadows and animals in the natural world around him. Nature was his classroom and everything was an opportunity to learn. In Thoreau’s book, Walden , written at the pond, he theorized that education could come through an intimacyRead MoreComparing Edgar Allan Poe and Henry David Thoreau1279 Words   |  6 PagesEdgar Allan Poe and Henry David Thoreau were two ver y different authors, one was a mastermind of Gothic literature, while the other was a transcendentalist. One can understand Poe’s knack for stories like The Fall of the House of Usher because of his unprivileged childhood. His father deserted his family, and his mother died while Poe was very young (Wiggins 288). He also lived through constant poverty and suffered from depression, his only refuge being his wife, Virginia, who died when she wasRead MoreAn Example Of Romanticism In Walden, By Henry David Thoreau740 Words   |  3 PagesWithin the passage of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, it demonstrates multiple examples of Romanticism. The concepts being mentioned are ideas about going transcending ordinary societal beliefs, following ones’ intuition, and creating a new moral law. A main reason why Walden is a representative of Romanticism is because it contains examples of mystery within nature. Thoreau mentions, â€Å"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and seeRead MoreHenry David Thoreau s The Wilderness Of Walden Pond Essay1626 Words   |  7 Pages Though the reasons for their pilgrimages were different, transcendentalists emphasized journeys into nature. Henry David Thoreau, perhaps the most famous transcendentalist, wrote Walden on his time spent in the wilderness of Walden pond. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Nature on his walks into the woods. Much of Emerson’s works were on intuition and self-reliance. Jeremiah Johnson is a modern movie that seemingly adopts the ideas of these transcendentalist authors into a narrative about a man who leavesRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Walden By Henry David Thoreau1300 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis of â€Å"Walden† The autobiography â€Å"Walden† by Henry David Thoreau is a first-person narrative explaining what Thoreau personally experienced from his experiment after two years of living at Walden Pond, encompassed by nature. Thoreau isolates himself from society and martial earnings to gain a higher understanding of what it means to have freedom as an individual. He simplifies his life to get closer to nature to learn more about himself and society. If we focus too much on obtainingRead More Comparing Metaphors in Norman Macleans, A River Runs Through It and Henry David Thoreaus, Walden1463 Words   |  6 Pagesand Henry David Thoreaus, Walden In Norman Macleans A River Runs Through It, the author recounts the story of his early life growing up in Montana. The narrative revolves around his family and the art of fly fishing. Through the novel, Maclean begins to understand the wisdom of his father, the fierce independence and downfall of his brother, and the divinity and beauty of nature. A similar theme regarding divinity in nature is found in Henry David Thoreaus Walden. Building his own cabin andRead MorePersonal Statement905 Words   |  4 Pagesdeal with children with special needs. ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES: Graduation from teachers’ college further fuelled the desire and the need to do additional studying in my professional of choice. This meant reading for a Bachelors of Science (hons) in Elementary Education earned at Temple University. I was fortunate enough to gain a certificate for outstanding work in curriculum. When I read for the Masters again I did two courses that spoke to special education and the need to make it an integralRead MoreA Simple Life Philosophy In Walden By David Henry Thoreau996 Words   |  4 PagesWalden author, David Henry Thoreau, has a simple life philosophy and, quite ironically, it is to live a simple life. Thoreau displays his philosophical ideas in his memoir, which he is most known for, Walden. Reading his memoir, we are exposed to his ideas on how one must regard life which is, rather than getting what one wants, but, to disregard what is irrelevant in our lives and to move forward towards our aspirations. Personally, I share similar views due to my constant termination of anything

Learning and Memory Biology vs. Society Free Essays

There has been much debate about the nature of human’s intelligence.   Questions arise from the matter.   Is the way you think and learn inherited, or as the nature side of the debate argues, biological?   Or is the way you think influenced by outside forces, or as the nature side of the debate argues, societal?   This paper aims to present the points of view of each side of the argument. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning and Memory: Biology vs. Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now    At the end of the paper, the author gives not just a summary of what has been presented but also an integration of the two views that gives the more believed perspective nowadays.   From this point on, the society that is referred to in the title is the environmental factors and biology is the genetic factors. During the last twenty years, genetics has moved from a relatively difficult to understand sub-field of biology to one of its most well funded segments.   Over these twenty years, there has been an explosion of genetic discoveries.   Nevertheless, more and more questions pop out from our minds regarding genetics.   One of these is the question: How does genetics research fit with our existing notions of us as humans? Recently, there have been an increasing number of researches that prove that cognitive abilities such as learning and memorizing are determined by genes.   That is, that our intelligence is hereditary.   Our human knowledge and cognitive processes are passed on from our parents.   Nature theorists believe that our cognitive abilities are the product of â€Å"a unique web of interactions among genes† (Lickliter and Honeycutt 461). These nature theorists believe that when we were born, our intelligence and everything that we know of are already part of ourselves because of our genes.   That is, they believe that â€Å"Nature is everything, nurture nothing† (Gopnik).   Leamnson and Betz (as cited in McMahon) argue that learning is a biological process as much as respiration or circulation is.   McMahon further explains that cognitive abilities such as thinking, learning and memorizing take place when biochemical reactions occur across synapses which then form the neural networks. While some researchers agree to the fact that genetic and environmental factors both play an important part in our cognitive development, they still believe that genes take the primary part in influencing our thinking, learning and memorizing abilities.   In their study, Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Development of Intelligence, Bartels et al. found that as the child grows up, the genetic influence on his intelligence increases while environmental factors decrease influence to his cognitive ability.   Thus, they conclude that â€Å"genetic influences are the main driving force behind continuity in general cognitive ability† (Bartels et al. 247). On the other side of the debate are the nurture theorists.   These theorists believe that environmental factors have a more significant part in sharpening our cognitive processes.   These nurture theorists believe in John Locke’s philosophy that when we were born, our minds are in blank states or as they call it tabula rasa. That is, when we were born, we do not know anything.   We only acquire knowledge, that is, we only learn as we experience the world around us.   That is, as Gopnik puts it, â€Å"nurture is everything, nature nothing.†Ã‚   Locke believed that we learn through experience. James Flynn, a NZ-based political scientist, found that after World War II, the average IQ in all countries increased which he claims is due to environmental effects.   Ulric Neisser explains further that this is because children are increasingly exposed to sophisticated visual images such as ads, posters, videogame and television in contrast to the methods of learning before the world war.   This suggests that the children’s cognitive abilities are influenced by the environment (Gopnik). Recently, however, there are an increasing number of researchers who believe that intelligence is influenced by both genetics and environmental factors.   There is no dominant factor; both play an equal role in the development of human intelligence.   Lickliter and Honeycutt describe the developmental systems theory (DST) that believes in the power of both genetics and environment to influence our cognitive abilities.   According to this theory, our cognitive abilities cannot be determined by genetics or environmental factors alone. As Lickliter and Honeycutt explain, â€Å"development is seen as a self-organizing†¦process in which pattern and order emerge and change as a result of complex interactions and relations among developmentally relevant resources both internal (including genes, but also cells, hormones, organs) and external to the organism (and not from some set of prespecified instructions)† (Lickliter and Honeycutt 462).   In contrast to the solely nature theorists, DST argues that genes and the mere passing of it to a child is not a sufficient explanation or cause of an individual’s learning and memorizing.   That is, although genes and environment both play an important role to the cognitive development of human beings, we cannot separate them and consider them as independent causes. The nature vs. nurture debate is likely to continue on but unlikely to be resolved to the satisfaction of those who strictly believe that intelligence is solely nature caused or nurture caused.   However, recently both environmentalists and behavior geneticists have called for the matter to have be ended by echoing Anastasi’s call to emphasize more on the question â€Å"How?† rather than â€Å"How much?† in the study of heredity and environment. Works Cited: â€Å"Nature Vs. Nurture in Intelligence†.   2005. November 20 2007. http://wilderdom.com/personality/L4-1IntelligenceNatureVsNurture.html. Bartels, M., et al. â€Å"Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Development of Intelligence.† Behavior Genetics 32 (2002): 237-49. Gopnik, Alison. Nature vs. Nurture. 2004. Lickliter, Robert, and Hunter Honeycutt. â€Å"Evolutionary Approaches to Cognitive Development: Status and Strategy.† Journal of Cognition and Development 4 (2003): 459-73. McMahon, Graham Peter. â€Å"Getting the Hots with What’s in the Box: Developing Higher Order Thinking Skills within a Technology-Rich Learning Environment.† Curtin University of Technology, 2007.    How to cite Learning and Memory: Biology vs. Society, Essay examples

Education and Extracurricular Activities Essay Example For Students

Education and Extracurricular Activities Essay There are a number of people who focus solely on their academics and nothing else. While school work is important, extracurricular activities also play an important role in a child’s life. Extracurricular activities offer a wide range of opportunities and benefits. Doing something outside of school helps children to â€Å"explore physical, creative, social, political, and career interests with like-minded people.†(Teens Health) When the thought of extracurricular activities is brought up, most people would assume sports such as basketball, soccer, or baseball. Although sports are a part of these activities, not everyone is interested or has the ability to participate in most sporting events and teams. Sports teams are not the only extracurricular activities to choose from, there are also many clubs and groups for people to join and be a part of. Some clubs are put together through the school or outside of school, in the community. For example, Bonneville High School has some of its own clubs such as debate, band, and orchestra. While in the community, kids can participate in 4-H or religious groups. For some people the decision of what activity to do can be a hard choice to make. The goal of the activity is to be fun and enjoyable, someone should think of their interests, how much time they have to devote to an activity, and their abilities. Being in a club or on a team can teach students important lessons they could use as they grow up and leave high school. Some of the lessons I want to focus on in my paper include leadership, teamwork, dedication, and responsibility. First is leadership, no matter what team or club a person may be on there is always leaderships roles that can be taken and filled by the participants in the group. . . ion is important. However extracurricular activities are important as well. School teaches students the curriculum they will need to further their education in college and as they get a job, but extracurricular activities teach a person how to socialize and work with all kinds of different people. Along with all of the lessons it teaches above extracurricular activities give students something better to do than sit home and watch television all day. Society is constantly searching for ways to keep students out of trouble with drugs and alcohol. â€Å"Many suggest that participation in extracurricular activities can be a major deterrent from taking part in such perilous activities. †(Baker) I believe extracurricular activities can help troubled students do better in school, have a better attitude, and learn those important lessons that they will use the rest of their life.