Behavior of Dogs, Evolution of Dogs, Domestication Processes

In the last two decades scientists have become more and more curious about the dog’s (Canis familiaris) seemingly innate ability to understand human cues. Historically this ability has been overlooked or dismissed in any non-primate species; dogs in particular were dismissed as an “‘artificial’ species.” (Mikolsi, Topal, & Csanyi, 2004) Then, just before the turn of the century, a trend in research began to emerge: dogs were showing ability near or above that of primates in human gaze driven studies. Following an initial study by Brian Hare, Josep Call and Michael Tomasello in 1998, researchers began to attempt to answer the questions: “How much do dogs understand about human cues?”, “What is responsible for the dog’s ability to do this (age, breed, training, domestication)”, and “If this is a learned ability, when do dogs learn this ability?”
Although researchers agree that the domestic dog has an uncanny ability to both interpret and utilize human-given cues, there continues to be debate regarding the origin of this ability. One school of thought posits that the ability to read human cues is a result of the dog’s domestication over thousands of years by humans. This is known as the “Domestication Hypothesis”. Others posit that this is not enough to explain the dog’s ability. This second group favors the “Two-Stage Hypothesis”. This hypothesis suggests that, along with domestication, dogs must have been given opportunities to enjoy positive interactions with humans, and their age and level of training must be taken into account and their lifelong experiences.
This review will cover research in the area of canine cognition from 1998 up to the present year, 2015. Generally each study reviewed was performed with the object choice task and human given cues. An object choice task is one in which an informant indicates the location of the hidden item to the subject (canid) by looking toward or pointing and looking toward one of two opaque containers (Hare & Tomasello, Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) Use Human and Conspecific Social Cues to Locate Hidden Food, 1999). Scoring was done based on the number of times the dog followed human cues (such as pointing or gazing, or a combination of both) and correctly chose the baited object. Before trials, dogs underwent training (commonly referred to as “pretraining”) with the experimenters in order to learn that the objects placed before them held food (small treats used to reinforce the dogs’ correct behavior; commonly called “reinforcers”). Some studies, where applicable, also included temperament testing in the form of questionnaires filled out by their owners. Most studies done have focused on human-given cues (a point, a gaze, a physical marker or any combination or variation thereof). However, some studies have incorporated conspecifics (others of the same species) and tested dogs’ ability to follow their cues in order to find hidden food.

W ramach pracy zbadano skuteczność i możliwe skutki uboczne karania pozytywnego w szkoleniu i terapii zaburzeń zachowania psów oraz sformułowano podstawowe zasady prawidłowego stosowania takiej metody modyfikacji zachowania na podstawie polsko i anglojęzycznej literatury tematycznej oraz opracowań badań naukowych.
Wyniki badań pozwalają wnioskować, że warunkiem koniecznym do tego, aby kara pozytywna mogła pełnić swoją funkcję, jest spełnienie odpowiednich kryteriów użycia stymulacji awersyjnej. Większość badań wskazujących na skuteczność karania pozytywnego była prowadzona w sztucznych i kontrolowalnych warunkach laboratoryjnych. Jednak wyniki tych badań rzadko mają przełożenie na rzeczywiste środowisko, w którym spełnienie kryteriów użycia stymulacji awersyjnej jest zazwyczaj bardzo trudne, a czasem wręcz niemożliwe. Dlatego stosowanie stymulacji awersyjnej okazuje się często mniej skuteczne niż by to wynikało z założeń teoretycznych. Badania, w których zwierzęta były poddawane działaniu zmiennych, będącymi typowymi czynnikami spotykanymi w życiu i były szkolone w rzeczywistym, dynamicznym i złożonym świecie, a nie w laboratorium, wskazują na nieefektywność stosowania kar w eliminowaniu zachowań problemowych oraz pokazują, że stosowanie kar pozytywnych w szkoleniu psów nie skutkuje wyższym poziomem posłuszeństwa u psa w porównaniu do metod alternatywnych. Ponadto badania pokazują, iż kara pozytywna nie powinna być stosowana w przypadku agresji o podłożu lękowym, reakcji lękowych i fobii, zachowań kompulsywnych czy też zaburzeń zachowania związanych z separacją, które rozwinęły się z zaburzeń o podłożu lękowym oraz w przypadku wszystkich innych zachowań, którym towarzyszą negatywne stany emocjonalne zwierzęcia. We wszystkich tych sytuacjach karanie może przynieść odmienny skutek i spowodować wzrost częstości i/lub intensywności karanego zachowania. Uwzględniając przy tym dobrostan szkolonych psów, bardziej zalecaną metodą staje się szkolenie oparte o wzmacnianie pozytywne pożądanych zachowań  i unikanie wzmacniania niewłaściwych reakcji, które w badaniach terenowych okazuje się być jednocześnie znacznie efektywniejsze niż szkolenie oparte o karanie pozytywne.

Human relationships with dogs extend into the deep past, just as they strongly endure in myriad forms in the present. New research in Siberia indicates that humans may have established relationships with wolves as early as 27,000 years ago, and this relationship blossomed into an undisputed case of domestication at least 14,700 years ago (Skoglund et al. 2015). Currently, most research indicates that wolves first joined human society when we were small hunter-gatherer bands around 14,000 years ago (Janssens et al. 2018). After millennia of living in close proximity to humans, a subset of wolves diverged from the larger gene pool as they were physically and cognitively changed by their growing relationships with humans. These became the ancestors of modern dogs. Given that the specific origins and benefits of this relationship are still poorly understood, scientists, as well as dog enthusiasts, continue to wonder how and why humans began sharing their lives with dogs in the first place. Researchers can use ethnographic data in eHRAF World Cultures to better understand how hunter-gatherers use and live with dogs. That being said, the environment, societies, and dog phenotypes have all changed dramatically since ancient times (for a complete description of the theoretical issues involved see Hayter 1994). The ecological relationships recent hunter-gatherers groups have had with dogs may shed light on the use and impact of dogs in ancient societies with similar environments. With this consideration in mind, let’s look at some examples of dog use in recent hunter-gatherer societies living in a few different environments. Exploring the utility of the human-dog relationship may help us understand why we first invited them into our lives.

Currently, there is still no consensus about whether animals can ascribe mental states (Theory of Mind) to themselves and others. Showing animals can respond to cues that indicate whether another has visual access to a target or not, and that they are able to use this information as a basis for whom to rely on as an informant, is an important step forward in this direction. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) with human informants are an ideal model, because they show high sensitivity towards human eye contact, they have proven able to assess the attentional state of humans in food-stealing or food-begging contexts, and they follow human gaze behind a barrier when searching for food. With 16 dogs, we not only replicated the main results of Maginnity and Grace (Anim Cogn 17(6):1375–1392, 2014) who recently found that dogs preferred to follow the pointing of a human who witnessed a food hiding event over a human who did not (the Guesser–Knower task), but also extended this finding with a further, critical control for behaviour-reading: two informants showed identical looking behaviour, but due to their different position in the room, only one had the opportunity to see where the food was hidden by a third person. Preference for the Knower in this critical test provides solid evidence for geometrical gaze following and perspective taking in dogs.

This text analyzes US sheepdog culture through the lens of American pastoralism, taking its cue from the obvious connection between pastoralism and shepherds, but also locating features of the American pastoral- in particular the tension between nature and civilization and ambivalence towards technology - in the development of sheepdog trials in the US, the figure of the American shepherd, the shepherd's attitude to the dog and the training methods used in the process of training a sheepdog.

This study explores the meaning of the death of a companion animal through autoethnographic poetry in conjunction with narrative reflections. This method expands the depth and scope of poetry in qualitative research by transforming expressive works into both the subject and product of inquiry.

Inhibitory control, the ability to overcome prepotent but ineffective behaviors, has been studied extensively across species, revealing the involvement of this ability in many different aspects of life. While various different paradigms have been created in order to measure inhibitory control, only a limited number of studies have investigated whether such measurements indeed evaluate the same underlying mechanism, especially in non-human animals. In humans, inhibitory control is a complex construct composed of distinct behavioral processes rather than of a single unified measure. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the validity of inhibitory control paradigms in dogs. Sixty-seven dogs were tested in a battery consisting of frequently used inhibitory control tests. Additionally, dog owners were asked to complete an impulsivity questionnaire about their dog. No correlation of dogs' performance across tasks was found. In order to understand whether there are some underlying behavioral aspects explaining dogs' performance across tests, we performed principle component analyses. Results revealed that three components (persistency, compulsivity and decision speed) explained the variation across tasks. The questionnaire and dogs' individual characteristics (i.e., age and sex) provided only limited information for the derived components. Overall, results suggest that no unique measurement for inhibitory control exists in dogs, but tests rather measure different aspects of this ability. Considering the context-specificity of inhibitory control in dogs and most probably also in other non-human animals, extreme caution is needed when making conclusions about inhibitory control abilities based on a single test.

Los perros ocupan un lugar especial en el elenco de interacciones que los seres humanos tenemos con otros animales, siendo la primera especie animal en participar en un proceso de domesticación. Esta dimensión particular del perro se manifiesta simbólicamente a través de su presencia en enterramientos desde el Paleolítico Superior. Esta domesticación es, además, la única que parece preceder al desarrollo de las primeras sociedades agrícolas. A través de una relación simbiótica, los humanos accedieron a la capacidad cinegética y de transporte de material en ambientes fríos de los perros a cambio de comida y abrigo. En este artículo,
trataré la evidencia morfométrica, isotópica y genética que nos permite distinguir los orígenes de la domesticación del perro.
Mucho se ha especulado sobre qué acercó a los lobos a los campamentos humanos, hablándose principalmente del hambre y la posibilidad de carroñear los huesos y otros despojos abandonados por los seres humanos. Sin embargo, pocas veces se ha intentado demostrar científicamente esta hipótesis mediante un estudio tafonómico sistemático de conjuntos óseos en yacimientos paleolíticos para determinar la acción oportunista de carnívoros con acceso secundario a los restos de comida de grupos cazadores-recolectores.
En este contexto, el excelente estado de  conservación del registro faunístico de Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (La Encarnación, Murcia), promete arrojar
información fundamental al respecto. Conocer la naturaleza y la profundidad cronológica de este fenómeno comensalista durante el Pleistoceno euroasiático es clave para entender el marco socio-ecológico que pudo favorecer la domesticación del perro.

Morphological and morphometric bone variation between archaeological wolves and the oldest domestic dogs commonly are used to define species differences. However, reference data often have been based on small numbers, without robust statistical support. We consulted the literature on these matters in all possible languages and tested many of the proposed species differences by examining wolf and dog skeletons from several collections, accompanied by an extensive synthesis of existing literature. We thus created large reference groups, assessing data distributions and variability. We examined mandible height, width, length, and convexity; contact points of the skull on a horizontal plane; caudal shifting of the border of the hard palate; skull size; carnassials tooth size reduction; micro-anatomical differences in teeth, snout, and skull height; and snout length and width. Our results show that skull length and related size; skull height; snout width; orbital angle; P4 and M1 mesio-distal diameter can help (albeit to a limited extent) to distinguish the oldest archaeological dogs from wolves. Based on our observations, we re-evaluated recent large Pleistocene canids reported as Paleolithic dogs and concluded instead that they fit well within the morphomentric distributions seen with Pleistocene wolves. The research presented here reflects the recent trend to critically re-evaluate axiomatic assumptions about wolf-dog differences, and to rephrase the morphological and morphometric definition of an early archaeological dog in a more suitable manner. These results are important to the international archaeological community because they place historical reports in a newer context, and create a robust (although narrow) framework for further evaluation of archaeological dogs and wolves.

Recent archeological finds of protodogs dating to 35,000 years ago have ignited controversy over the function of canids in early Upper Paleolithic societies. Reconstructions nominate the use of proto and early dogs in hunting and hauling as underwriting changes in subsistence technology, catalyzing human population growth and supporting the spread of modern humans at the expense of Neanderthals. These reconstructions assume that the use of canids in hunting will always have profound impacts on human subsistence. In this paper, I summarize existing quantitative data derived from the ethnographic record to evaluate productivity gains derived from the use of dogs in hunting. To augment this sparse information , I present some of the only data on the deployment of unspecialized Central African dogs (basenji's) by hunter-gatherers. These data show that while dogs can enhance hunting returns in certain circumstance , their overall impact on hunting productivity is highly variable and often restricted to specific prey types. Furthermore, the complex circumstances surrounding the emergence and spread of dogs globally precludes simple applications of these data to the archaeological record. These data invite a reexamina-tion of when and how we expect dogs to have a significant impact on human subsistence and the circumstances that supported the emergence and spread of canids as effective hunting aids.

The domestication of dogs likely occurred in Eurasia by 16,000 years ago, and the initial peopling of the Americas potentially
happened around the same time. Dogs were long thought to have accompanied the first migrations into the Americas, but conclusive
evidence for Paleoindian dogs is lacking. In this study, the direct dating of two dogs from the Koster site (Greene
County, Illinois) and a newly described dog from the Stilwell II site (Pike County, Illinois) to between 10,190 and 9,630 cal
BP represents the earliest confirmed evidence of domestic dogs in the Americas and individual dog burials anywhere in the
world. Analysis of these animals shows Early Archaic dogs were medium sized, lived active lifestyles, and exhibited significant
morphological variation. Stable isotope analyses suggest diets dominated by terrestrial C3 resources and substantial consumption
of riverine fish.

The domestication of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) is perhaps one of the most important milestones of human achievement, as the resulting " dog " (Canis lupus familiaris) became the first domesticated animal. At the dawn of the Neolithic revolution in the Near East, multiple ungulates, such as horses, cattle, and sheep were domesticated. Combined with a new, agriculturally predominant diet, the domestication of these animals has proven to have significantly decreased human height and stature, as well as introduced many diseases that were spread between humans and animals as a result of living in close proximity. There is also opposing evidence suggesting that humans may have given these diseases to animals as well. However, there has been little research on whether the domestication of the dog has impacted human physiology and pathology. As the current literature regarding dog domestication is ever changing, this study has compiled a detailed, contemporary literature review on the subject and has used this information to further research. In combination with various ecological, parasitological and epidemiological data, this study has concluded that several modern zoonotic diseases including leptospirosis and rabies may have played a large role in affecting human biology and physiology in the past.

Dog domestication is probably the result of the forging of particularly close relationships between two social species, humans and wolves, around 15,000 years ago. However, a few thousand years later, wolves were progressively excluded from human settlements because of livestock domestication. Then, dogs and wolves took radically different historical pathways, dogs becoming more and more integrated into human societies whereas wolves were rejected and persecuted in large parts of their range until recently. Indeed, under the combined effects of rural abandonment and nature protection laws, wolves are now coming back to their former territories and their populations co-occur not only with humans but also with large populations of dogs, either owned or free-ranging. This co-occurrence produces numerous hybrids, causing difficulties for conservation scientists and wildlife managers. The development of the wolf-dog hybrid problem highlights underlying categorizations behind scientific discourses and questions the relevance of established categories and borders – both interspecific and domestic/wild ones – to describe the diversity of our relationships with animals.

The domestic dog is assumed by nearly everyone to be the consummate smeller. Within the species Canis familiaris individual breeds, such as the bloodhound or beagle, are known as olfactory stars. These are "scent breeds," a grouping variably defined as a genetic clade or breed class commonly used for scent detection tasks. Previous work suggests that the dog has a more robust olfactory anatomy than many mammal species. Now we undertake a closer investigation of the dog's olfactory system, both in relationship to its closest wild relatives, the wolf and coyote, and across individual breeds. First, we seek to resolve whether the dog has lost olfactory capacity through its domestication from the wolf lineage. Second, we test the inertial lore that among dogs, "scent breeds," have a superior olfactory facility. As a measure of relative olfactory capacity, we look to the cribriform plate (CP), a bony cup in the posterior nasal cavity perforated by passageways for all olfactory nerve bundles streaming from the periphery to the brain. Using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans and digital quantification, we compare relative CP size in 46 dog breeds, the coyote and gray wolf. Results show the dog has a reduced CP surface area relative to the wolf and coyote. Moreover, we found no significant differences between CP size of "scent" and "non-scent" breeds. Our study suggests that the dog lost olfactory capacity as a result of domestica-tion and this loss was not recovered in particular breed groupings through directed artificial selection for increased olfactory facility. K E Y W O R D S cribriform plate, domestication, domestic dog, olfaction, scent breed

The archaeological record shows the presence of medium-sized dogs with mesocephalic skulls in Southeast South America, from at least the end of the third millennium BP to historical times, along 700 km from southern Brazil to the wetlands of the Paraná River in Argentina. These dogs, associated with complex hunter-gatherers, do not appear to have been the product of exchange with Andean societies as previous theories suggested, but rather of a local breeding process, probably reflecting the offspring of a founder population introduced in the area before at least the third millennium BP. Isotopic values show a C 3 omnivorous pattern, resulting from a broad and opportunistic niche, not overlapping with that of humans. The relationships between humans and their dogs were very complex; some of the dogs were buried in mortuary areas, in double human-dog burials, meanwhile others were used as a source of raw material. Shortly after the introduction of European dogs, they were quickly assimilated by these introduced dogs, which is supported by the pairwise distance analysis. Phylogenetic analysis illustrates the maternal lineage of these pre-Columbian and modern dogs, both belonging to the haplogroup A, supporting a common ancestry.

The idea of “mammoth megasites” during the Gravettian and Epigravettian has long been a controversial topic among researchers, with debate over whether they are the result of natural deaths or specialized human hunting (Haynes, 1991, Soffer et al., 2001 and Svoboda et al., 2005). From the same time period there is also much disagreement about the presence of possible domesticated dog remains, representing initial domestication event(s) across Eurasia. In her recent paper, Shipman (2015) considers these two topics, suggesting the proliferation of mammoth remains from a number of Eurasian sites is the result of human hunting, while also suggesting the hunting of these mammoths was facilitated by the assistance of some form of early domesticated dog (referred to as “wolf dogs”). While we strongly support additional research into the issues of mammoth megasites and initial dog domestication, the evidence presented by Shipman fails to support the conclusions made. Here, we present issues with the taphonomic considerations, mammoth age profiles, and the proposed domesticated canid hypothesis.

This article examines some tales of feral dogs in the context of ecocriticism and critical animal studies. It discusses the concept of ferality in ethology and evolutionary biology, and considers environmentalist conceptions of ferality as a kind of biological pollution alongside the celebration of ferality in animal studies as a subversive biological tendency.. Fictional texts discussed include Eva Hornung's novel Dog Boy, Alistair Macleod's collec tion As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories and Jack London's The Call of the Wild.

Abstract :
Les Égyptiens attribuèrent des noms propres à leurs chiens, non seulement parce qu’ils les avaient intégrés comme membres de la famille humaine, mais aussi parce qu’ils avaient observé que « le chien obéit à la parole ».
93 cynonymes sont connus à ce jour.

In the thousands of years that followed dog domestication, wherever humans went, dogs surely followed. However, the tale of the dog in the ancient South Pacific is often an overlooked one. A small, bandy-legged dog, seemingly not much use for anything but food, this canine could easily be overshadowed in history by more accomplished breeds; the sled dogs of Siberia, the sight hounds of the Middle East, the herders and guarders of Europe, or the practical retrievers of North America. In actuality, tracing the journey of this domesticate could help us to work towards an answer in the mystery of the origin of the first South Pacific colonists. Through discussing the journey and presence of the domestic dog following one of the last great feats of human migration, valuable insight can be gained surrounding one of the longest-standing human-animal relationships. Over time, the closeness of man and dog in the South Pacific persisted, entrenched in folklore and material culture, with this landrace of dog only facing an untimely demise when it was usurped and genetically diluted by European breeds.

THE DOMESTICATION FROM THE WOLF TO THE DOG IS BASED ON COEVOLUTION. THE EVOLUTIONARY CONTINUITY OF THE BRAIN ENABLED BOTH TO SOCIAL CONTACT AND EMPATHY
D. Pörtl1*, C. Jung2
1Private Researcher, Doctor neurology and psychiatry, Burgenlandklinikum, Humboldtstrasse 31, 06618 Naumburg, Germany; 2Private Researcher, Diplom-Psychologe and Author, Halle (Saale), Germany
*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Highlight
The domestication from the wolf to the dog is based on coevolution. Humans and wolves are highly social mammals living in familiar clans. During palaeolithic period they were living in the same ecological niche, hunting the same big pray as cooperative groups. Due to the evolutionary continuity of the brain both evolved very similar refined social communication which permits interspecific cooperation.

Increasing social contact between humans and wolves enhanced empathy between them and started epigenetic modulation of the HPA-stress axis. Our model of the active social domestication considers that domestication is essentially an epigenetic based process of changing the interactions of HPA stress axis and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) system. Both are closely cross-regulated. Changes in their interactions are of particular relevance when regarding domestication processes of animals.

Operated by epigenetic modulation i.e. social licking and grooming enhance hippocampus Glucocorticoid receptor (hGCR) expression via increased serotonin and subsequently increased NGF levels binding on GRexon1;7promotorbloc. Increased hGCR density inhibits the activity of HPA stress axis. We consider additional nutrition changes like methionin decrease and thryptophan increase during further coevolution to decrease dogs stress reaction via epigenetic modulation.

Neural structures which are important for learning could increase. The domestic wolf became a social dog being able to work together with humans. Hunting and working together promotes the process of reducing stress and increasing pro-social neurotransmitters for each other. This is considered as base of human-dog-bonding and benefit of dog facilitated therapy. We maintain that also human learning and social abilities might have improved.
Keywords: domestication of dogs; stress axis; epigenetics; pro-social neurotransmitters; coevolution

Domestication is often portrayed as a long-past event, at times even in archaeological literature. The term domestication is also now applied to other processes, including human evolution. In such contexts, domestication means selection for friendliness or prosociality and the bodily results of such selective choices. Both such perspectives are misleading. Using dogs and modern humans as entry points, this paper explores why conceiving of domestication as a threshold event consisting of selection for prosociality is both incomplete and inaccurate. Domestication is an ongoing process, not a moment or an achievement. Selection in breeding, including for prosociality, is a part of many domestication histories, but it alone does not sustain this process over multiple generations. Further, much selection in domestication has little to do with human intention. Care, taming, commensalism, material things, and places are critical in carrying domestic relationships forward.

To prove that dominance does exist, Dr. Abrantes says, “It is absurd to argue that dominance does not exist when we have so many words to describe whatever it relates to.”

I’m not sure that’s a cogent or reasonable argument. After all, there are thousands or words to describe the concept of God or some form of deity. Does that stand as a rational, scientific argument that such deities exist?

I would argue that there is a recognizable form of social behavior, seen primarily in humans and (perhaps) primates, that may properly be described as dominance. It relates to the use of force, power, or some other form of influence to control the behaviors of group members that rank lower on the social scale. Schools, governments, and the military are top-down systems. However, there are many other systems—in humans on down—that don’t operate through dominance. And while we certainly see similar types of behaviors in canines and primates, the motivations for these behaviors may be quite different.

Domestic dog-like skulls found in Belgian and Altai Mountain caves, canid DNA evidence, and dog paw prints identified alongside those of a child in the French Cave of Chauvet, all dating earlier than 26,000 years ago, suggest that domestic dogs existed distinctly from wolves during the Upper Paleolithic and that they inhabited regions where humans were present.

While thousands of horses, bison, ibex, aurochs, lions and other animals depicted in the last Ice Age on the walls of European caves have been closely examined, there has been little study of pictured canids in those caves during the same era to determine if there is a connection between humans and domestic dogs.

This research examined seven Upper Paleolithic depictions of canids in European caves to better determine if they represent domestic dogs or wolves. The characteristics examined included length of legs, up vs. down hanging ears, orientation of tails, heaviness of bodies, and shape of muzzles. These characteristics are also compared with those of wolves and domestic dog breeds in the present and cross referenced with DNA studies of canids. The study additionally ascertained why Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers chose to domesticate/breed dogs and how they could have been utilized.

A documentalist by profession, as well as a prehistorian, Guy Célérier played a major role in archaeological research in the Périgord. His insatiable curiosity, the key to his extensive general knowledge, his benevolent interest in the human species to the point that it became one of his topics of study, the pleasure he took in sharing knowledge, and the quality of his excavation techniques and ideas about the prehistoric populations of Aquitaine, a major region for Prehistory, all had obvious repercussions for many of today’s researchers.


In 2015, seven years after his passing, we wished to pay tribute to him with a round-table conference dedicated to the main questions he addressed, especially though his excavation of the site of Pont d’Ambon. This round-table, Human cultures during the Paleolithic to Mesolithic transition in the northern Aquitaine region, was organized by the National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies de Tayac (Dordogne) on June 23-26. The presentations addressed two main topics: “The long term: prehistoric cultures at the end of the Paleolithic and start of the Mesolithic”, and; “The beginnings of domestication: the emergence of the dog and the intensification human-animal relations”.

The proceedings of this round-table are published in this special issue. It is globally constructed around these two topics and contains the articles corresponding to most of the round-table presentations. We nonetheless regret that some authors, due to their full schedules, were not able to submit their articles. Each contribution was subject to a double-blind evaluation by two reviewers and at least one of the publication directors. The review committee was composed of members of the round-table scientific committee and the review committee of the journal PALEO, as well as external specialists when necessary. We warmly thank our colleagues (French, Italian, Spanish) who agreed to review the articles in this volume. Most of the articles are intentionally short and we thank the authors for making the effort to respect this request. The comments and suggestions made by the reviewers were usually taken into account, but the authors, being responsible for their own words, were free to make this choice.