Specific finds indicate that there were early attempts at domestication of the small red fox, previous to the widespread domestication of dogs.
According to studies undertaken on the possibilities of Domesticating foxes, it is highly unlikely to be a successful undertaking. They are shy and skittish, in comparison to dogs.
However, it is difficult to be certain if this was the case this far in the past. Perhaps as more information is published more will become clear.
Check out the article here if you are interested.
At the Italian site where I work over the summers, a necropolis of about 20 individuals have been found dating from the Late Epigravettian (13,000ish BP). In a few of those burials, the skeletons were found in association with squirrel tail bones. It is thought that squirrel tails were worn as part of the clothing...
ReplyDeleteI know it's probably not the case, but maybe the 'Italians' of that regions were trying to domesticate squirrels as well. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous that idea is, but your post made me think of that, so I had to write it down!
That is pretty cool stuff. It is definitely hard to interpret, but squirrels definitely do not seem like ideal pets!
ReplyDeleteI also just came across an article that goes into a little more detail about the foxes.
Click here