Vitale Emma, Feuerborn Tatiana R, Walls Matthew
Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Department of Health and Nature, University of Greenland, Nuuk, Greenland.
Evol Anthropol. 2025 Sep;34(3):e70009. doi: 10.1002/evan.70009.
Since the Late Pleistocene, humans and dogs have coevolved in the Arctic, forming a symbiotic relationship essential to survival, mobility, and adaptation. Archeological evidence shows dogs were used as traction animals by the Early Holocene, ultimately facilitating Inuit expansion and shaping Arctic settlement patterns. Despite recent declines in sled dog populations due to colonial factors, climate change, and cultural shifts, dogs remain central to Inuit identity. This paper frames the human-dog cooperation as a dynamic system of mutual learning, or enskilment, where both species acquire shared skills through collaboration. Tools like harnesses and whips serve as communicative devices within this system. Drawing on archeological and contemporary Inuit practices, the study highlights how embodied knowledge and animal agency contribute to ecological resilience. By viewing the Arctic as a co-managed landscape shaped by human-dog cooperation, the paper challenges static views of adaptation and underscores the enduring significance of this interspecies relationship.
自晚更新世以来，人类和狗在北极共同进化，形成了一种对生存、移动和适应至关重要的共生关系。考古证据表明，早在全新世早期，狗就被用作牵引动物，最终促进了因纽特人的扩张并塑造了北极的定居模式。尽管由于殖民因素、气候变化和文化变迁，雪橇犬数量最近有所下降，但狗仍然是因纽特人身份认同的核心。本文将人类与狗的合作构建为一个相互学习或技能培养的动态系统，在这个系统中，两个物种通过协作获得共同的技能。马具和鞭子等工具在这个系统中充当交流工具。该研究借鉴考古学和当代因纽特人的实践，强调了身体知识和动物能动性如何促进生态恢复力。通过将北极视为由人类与狗的合作塑造的共同管理的景观，本文挑战了关于适应的静态观点，并强调了这种物种间关系的持久重要性。
