According to our current knowledge, the number of dingoes is approx. They arrived in Australia 3,300 years ago on a ship from the north, in the company of a man, but they are now completely disreputable and can be called anything but man’s best friend. However, long ago, before the European invasion of Australia, they developed a very close relationship with the people. New Australian In the field of research Examined remains were found at an archaeological site near Sydney.
It is known among the indigenous people that the dingo fulfilled many functions worthy of a pet: serving as guardian and protection, assisting in hunting, or simply being a companion animal. Dingoes have been included in human families, have been part of stories, mythology and cosmology, and can even be found in Aboriginal art. However, the European conquest changed the lives of the continent’s inhabitants to such an extent that nothing remains of it today, except traces of the previous coexistence.
At the Korracurang site in South Australia, radiocarbon dating shows that humans and dingoes were buried together 2,000 years ago. The care with which dingoes were placed in their graves indicates a closer relationship between man and dog than previously assumed.
Although the dingoes did not receive this type of burial, they were buried using the same methods and procedures as humans in that area. There are countless dingo grave sites on the continent, but the burials were not the only evidence that dingoes and humans had a close relationship. The teeth of the dingo remains had signs of wear so strong that they could have once survived on bones and other human remains. In addition, the remains of dingoes of different ages were found, that is, they lived not only with easily handled domesticated cubs until they returned to the wild during their sexual maturity, mating season, but also with ancient animals. Australian Aborigines domesticated dingoes at a relatively early stage, and their reproduction was not yet controlled, but they were fed and old injured animals were lovingly cared for – evidenced by the remains of an elderly dingo who had recovered from serious injuries.
Archaeological discoveries have proven that not only did dingoes and humans live together during the period of European conquest, as records attest, but the relationship has a history that extends back thousands of years. However, in most parts of the continent, dingoes were, and still are, wild animals, so they should not be considered a domesticated dog breed.
