Animal Connection: New Hypothesis for Human Evolution and Human Nature

Animal Connection: New Hypothesis for Human Evolution and Human Nature

These carvings are from ivory and have been dated to between 30,000 - 36,000 years old, making them the oldest artworks in Europe. (Credit: Photo by H. Jensen. Copyright University of Tubingen)

ScienceDaily (July 20, 2010) — It's no secret to any dog-lover or cat-lover that humans have a special connection with animals. But in a new journal article and forthcoming book, paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman of Penn State University argues that this human-animal connection goes well beyond simple affection. Shipman proposes that the interdependency of ancestral humans with other animal species -- "the animal connection" -- played a crucial and beneficial role in human evolution over the last 2.6 million years.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100720123639.htm