Exploration of the morphological diversity of mandible of dogs during Epipalaeolithic until Bronze Age in Europe and Near and Middle East. Morpho-functional aspects link to dietary changes induced by man.
Résumé
The domestication involves changes in lifestyle of individuals that will cause changes in phenotype. For example, it has been established, that from the Neolithic some dogs, the first animal
species domesticated, have been able to digest starch in large quantities. This new adaptation
represents a crucial step in the evolution of the dog because it represents an adaptation to
lifestyle of agricultural societies. As the structure of the masticatory apparatus is related to the
type of diet, it is possible that the dietary change had an impact on the anatomy of the mandible.
So, one of the goals of this study is to compare the morphological and morpho-functional evolution of the dogs mandibular apparatus link to the humans techno-economic evolution during
Epipaleotithic until Bronze Age. To study the morphological diversity of mandible, traditional
and geometric morphometric analyses were used on 627 mandibles of dogs and 94 mandibles of
wolves from 36 archeological sites in Europe and Near and Middle East. These analysis showed
the proximity between Paleolithic wolves and Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic dogs in Europe. In addition, this study showed the development of new forms of dogs during the Neolithic
and Chalcolithic in Europe. Moreover, after comparison with paleogenetic data, we assumed
that the morphological and morpho-functional diversity of mandible of dogs were linked to the
development of agriculture in Neolithic societies. This study highlights that there is a link between starch diet adaptations in ancient European dogs and a morphological specialization of
the mandible.