This book is about the dogs that were kept by Native American tribes. The author estimates that among all the tribes, there were at least seventeen distinctly recognizable breeds or types. Some were widespread, others very unique to a small area or only one tribe. Most of them are now gone- they disappeared when their owners were exterminated, or were killed by conquering peoples who saw them as useless. Remaining extant are Malamutes, Eskimo dogs, and the Xoloitzcuintle (although the author thought this one had disappeared as well). The first third of the book is rather dry reading (at least for me) it’s on archaeological evidence of early dogs, and how very very far back they were already being bred to type. (I’m not sure how much the info presented in that section has changed with newer findings). The rest of the book is much more readable- detailing what was known of the natives’ dogs through early written accounts, paintings, and a few photographs. Most of the dogs’ roles in Native American societies were what you might expect- as hunting partners, to protect and give warnings, or to carry and haul burdens (especially before they had horses). In some tribes they were regularly used as food, in others this was only in times of starvation as a last resort. What was new to me: they were often a valuable source of warmth in cold climates- dogs have an average body temperature higher than humans, so sleeping with them kept people warm. One tribe had a special breed of dog with a very thick coat they kept just to shear the fur, spin it and weave with other fibers to make cloth. Another tribe reportedly had dogs that were trained to dive into the water and herd fish into their owners’ nets. Although they were sometimes treated callously, more often the people treasured their dogs and valued them highly. This book was more interesting than I expected at first, and gave me a new picture of how dogs lived with people in early times.
Rating: 3/5
192 pages, 1987
4 Responses
Personally, I have no doubt that dogs really do deserve to be called “man’s best friends.” This sounds like a good history of that relationship, and it reminds me of a visit I once made to the Museum of Natural History in London where they had “stuffed” specimens of various breeds as they evolved over the decades. Some breeds were hardly recognizable a hundred or so years from where the exhibit began them.
That sounds like a really interesting exhibit, Sam. I’ve seen early photographs of some dogs- american pit bull types, german shepherds, boxers- and they do look so different. They used to breed them selectively for working traits but now that it’s for looks, a lot of their forms have gone to extremes I think.
Interesting about using the dogs for warmth. I love it when my cat sleeps against me at night, a big fuzzy dog would be even nicer.
Yes! My cat definitely likes to sit on my lap or legs more when it’s cold weather, and sometimes in warmer months I actually push him off, it gets too toasty! I never thought of it actually being of survival value for early peoples, though. Makes a lot of sense, you don’t have to tend a fire all night if you have three dogs (literally) at your back.