© Mihailo K | Bigstock
When you think of dogs and people in prehistoric times, perhaps what comes to mind is a vision of men and their canine pets hunting together, forging a bond that strengthened over millennia. But it’s women who made dogs members of our families.
Researchers at the University of Washington made the finding when they looked over data from 844 ethnographers writing on 144 traditional societies from around the globe. They learned that when dogs were treated more like people — given names, granted permission to sleep in the same bed as people, and being mourned when they died — it was because women were more involved in their lives.
In other words, women affectionately made dogs part of the family, and that in turn made it worthwhile for dogs to hang around.
