How dogs taught early man to fetch new ideas

They have always been considered man's best friend, but according to a pair of Australian researchers, dogs have made us what we are.

The academics say human dependence on dogs resulted in early man becoming a social and territorial creature who hunted in packs and absorbed the behavioural characteristics of dogs.

Just as early humans tamed the wolf, so the wolf-turned-dog modified human behaviour, according to research by archaeologist Colin Pardoe and anthropologist Paul Tacon.

'Evidence suggests domestication of dogs was a two-way street. That led to profound changes in the biological and behavioural evolution for both species,' the scientists wrote in a paper published in Nature Australia magazine yesterday.

The domestic dog evolved over thousands of years after wolves began scavenging around human camp sites. They were later used for hunting, enabling much larger catches.

In effect, say the researchers, early hunters were absorbing the idea of hunting as a team from their dogs. The animals were not only companions - they were also teachers.

The pair say this may explain why Neanderthals and homo erectus became extinct and homo sapiens did not.