18. The domestication of dogs 14,000 years ago changed the course of history
When our ancestors first flung scraps to habituated wolves lurking by their campfires, they unwittingly changed the course of history. These domesticated wolves, over many generations, radically changed the human story. First, they helped us hunt more successfully, stopping us from starving to death. At the same time, they protected us from predators, allowing us to flourish in greater numbers. When humans began farming, they kept predators away from livestock. Quite simply, without dogs, the agricultural revolution wouldn’t have happened. From this more settled way of life, 14,000 years ago, civilization developed, and the rest is, quite frankly, history…