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The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction
A Times Higher Education Book of the WeekApproximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe—descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished. Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were identified in 1856, scientists have been vexed by the question, why did modern humans survive while their closest known relatives went extinct?“Shipman admits that scientists have yet to find genetic evidence that would prove her theory. Time will tell if she’s right. For now, read this book for an engagingly comprehensive overview of the rapidly evolving understanding of our own origins.”—Toby Lester, Wall Street Journal“Are humans the ultimate invasive species? So contends anthropologist Pat Shipman—and Neanderthals, she opines, were among our first victims. The relationship between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis is laid out cleanly, along with genetic and other evidence. Shipman posits provocatively that the deciding factor in the triumph of our ancestors was the domestication of wolves.”—Daniel Cressey, Nature
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2015
71 people are currently reading
1108 people want to read
About the author
Pat Shipman
19 books44 followersPat Shipman is a professor of anthropology at Penn State University. Coauthor of the award-winning The Ape in the Tree, she writes for American Scientist and lives in Moncure, North Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
October 26, 2023
Where modern humans go a wave of extinction is sure to follow. This is the gist of Pat Shipman’s hypothesis on the disappearance of the Neandertals. She contends that it was a combination of factors—climate change, deforestation, volcanic activity, competition for resources, genetic propensity, invasive modern humans, and, ultimately, domestic dogs—that tipped the scales in our favor and ultimately spelled doom for our robust cousins.
It may seem odd to think of ourselves as an invasive species yet we Homo sapiens are the most pervasive invasive species that has ever lived. Additionally, we are the quintessential Apex predator and we have worked, consciously and unconsciously, to eliminate every other Apex predator that might compete with us in every single ecosystem we’ve encountered.
“An invasive species is an introduced, nonnative organism (disease, parasite, plant, or animal) that begins to spread or expand its range from the site of its original introduction and that has the potential to cause harm to the environment, the economy, or to human health. -U.S. Geological Survey, usgs.gov
Based on the archaeological record, dogs were solely associated with modern humans. The Invaders doesn’t introduce domestic dogs as a factor in the extinction of Neandertals until chapter 12, which is about two thirds of the way through the book. It is almost an afterthought. Shipman admits that the evidence for this part of her theory is scant and largely circumstantial but she nonetheless makes a pretty good argument. For anyone interested in paleoanthropology, this is well worth reading.
*NOTE: The canine skeletons excavated from early modern human encampments show that these were not the domestic dogs we know and love today. They were descended from wolves but were far enough removed from wolves to be a distinct and separate species. What’s really surprising is that some geneticists argue that these early specimens are not ancestral to modern domestic canines. So what are they and where did they go? Genetically speaking, they were something distinct and enigmatic.
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I Found This Humorous…
Another potential reason that Modern Humans survived and Neandertals perished was the limited ability of the latter to adapt. Dr. Shipman calls this the Jagger Principle. Modern humans and brown bears were able to adjust to the receding forests and expanding grasslands, Neandertals and cave bears were not—proving that you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find that you get what you need.
It may seem odd to think of ourselves as an invasive species yet we Homo sapiens are the most pervasive invasive species that has ever lived. Additionally, we are the quintessential Apex predator and we have worked, consciously and unconsciously, to eliminate every other Apex predator that might compete with us in every single ecosystem we’ve encountered.
“An invasive species is an introduced, nonnative organism (disease, parasite, plant, or animal) that begins to spread or expand its range from the site of its original introduction and that has the potential to cause harm to the environment, the economy, or to human health. -U.S. Geological Survey, usgs.gov
Based on the archaeological record, dogs were solely associated with modern humans. The Invaders doesn’t introduce domestic dogs as a factor in the extinction of Neandertals until chapter 12, which is about two thirds of the way through the book. It is almost an afterthought. Shipman admits that the evidence for this part of her theory is scant and largely circumstantial but she nonetheless makes a pretty good argument. For anyone interested in paleoanthropology, this is well worth reading.
*NOTE: The canine skeletons excavated from early modern human encampments show that these were not the domestic dogs we know and love today. They were descended from wolves but were far enough removed from wolves to be a distinct and separate species. What’s really surprising is that some geneticists argue that these early specimens are not ancestral to modern domestic canines. So what are they and where did they go? Genetically speaking, they were something distinct and enigmatic.
_________________________________
I Found This Humorous…
Another potential reason that Modern Humans survived and Neandertals perished was the limited ability of the latter to adapt. Dr. Shipman calls this the Jagger Principle. Modern humans and brown bears were able to adjust to the receding forests and expanding grasslands, Neandertals and cave bears were not—proving that you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find that you get what you need.
June 23, 2023
A fascinating if slightly depressing, hypothesis- and a surprisingly chill read.
June 26, 2018
As other reviewers have already pointed out, the title of this book is something of a misnomer. The bulk of the text concerns itself with the Neanderthal extinction and establishing the fact that it was already well under way prior to homo sapiens migrating into Eurasia. The book is a bit more suited to an academic audience than a lay audience, and serves as a very nice technical guide to the varying pressures exerted upon prehistoric megafauna and Neanderthals by climate change, the resulting changing environment, and finally the homo sapiens themselves. Only at the very tail end of all of this is the notion of domesticated dogs introduced, although their introduction (and theories as to why Neanderthals didn't similarly domesticate them) do prove interesting.
One of my main problems with this text, even as a speculative argument which it certainly is, is the failure to consider pariah dogs in the study of early dog/wolf-dog behavior. The gray wolf model has been brought into question time and again and pariah dogs, as well as domesticated dogs in general, act very little like their gray wolf cousins. It has been proven that the wolf that our present day dogs evolved from was not the gray wolf, but rather a now extinct, somewhat more solitary ancestor, and pariah dog behavior should be more in line with than than with the modern gray wolf. The focus on gray wolves was a bit troubling.
Even dingoes, coyotes, Carolina dogs, etc. would likely prove a better focus than gray wolves, being only marginally tame as those animals are.
The discounting of the Russian Fox experiment also troubled me.
Regardless, this is an interesting hypothesis and worth lending an ear to. The trophic collapse theory of Neanderthal extinction deserves more focus, especially given the failure thus far to turn up any signs of actual homo sapiens predation.
One of my main problems with this text, even as a speculative argument which it certainly is, is the failure to consider pariah dogs in the study of early dog/wolf-dog behavior. The gray wolf model has been brought into question time and again and pariah dogs, as well as domesticated dogs in general, act very little like their gray wolf cousins. It has been proven that the wolf that our present day dogs evolved from was not the gray wolf, but rather a now extinct, somewhat more solitary ancestor, and pariah dog behavior should be more in line with than than with the modern gray wolf. The focus on gray wolves was a bit troubling.
Even dingoes, coyotes, Carolina dogs, etc. would likely prove a better focus than gray wolves, being only marginally tame as those animals are.
The discounting of the Russian Fox experiment also troubled me.
Regardless, this is an interesting hypothesis and worth lending an ear to. The trophic collapse theory of Neanderthal extinction deserves more focus, especially given the failure thus far to turn up any signs of actual homo sapiens predation.
June 29, 2024
3.5 stars. Interesting to listen about but not a new favorite. Didn't really make an impact memory wise.
September 12, 2025
This is the kind of book I really like to read now and then--speculation based on the latest scientific findings. Shipman deals with the long-standing question of what happened to the Neanderthals, our closest relatives, who, like us modern humans, had large brains, toolmaking abilities, and hunting skills. But they are the ones who disappeared...
Using knowledge that we've gained about invasive species, Shipman makes the argument that early H. sapiens ( we used to call them Cro-Magnon Men) moved into Europe about 42,000 years ago and had a devastating impact on the Neanderthal people. We've learned that the species ecologically closest to the invading predator will face the greatest competition ( such as in the case of the coyote whose numbers plummeted in Yellowstone with the reintroduction of wolves there).
Most interestingly, Shipman discusses findings that modern humans had a proto-dog ( called 'wolf-dogs") as much as 36,000 years ago. Having a kind of dog would have made modern humans' hunting much more effective and would have put much greater pressure on Neanderthals. It could have been decisive in causing the extinction of the Neanderthals.
As a lifelong doglover, I enjoyed the speculations about how the "dogs" could have been domesticated and all the possible benefits that would have been gained for both dog and human with their unlikely alliance.
Using knowledge that we've gained about invasive species, Shipman makes the argument that early H. sapiens ( we used to call them Cro-Magnon Men) moved into Europe about 42,000 years ago and had a devastating impact on the Neanderthal people. We've learned that the species ecologically closest to the invading predator will face the greatest competition ( such as in the case of the coyote whose numbers plummeted in Yellowstone with the reintroduction of wolves there).
Most interestingly, Shipman discusses findings that modern humans had a proto-dog ( called 'wolf-dogs") as much as 36,000 years ago. Having a kind of dog would have made modern humans' hunting much more effective and would have put much greater pressure on Neanderthals. It could have been decisive in causing the extinction of the Neanderthals.
As a lifelong doglover, I enjoyed the speculations about how the "dogs" could have been domesticated and all the possible benefits that would have been gained for both dog and human with their unlikely alliance.
February 22, 2024
I enjoyed it. Looking at the rise of Homo Sapiens and the decline and eventual extinction of Homo neanderthalensis through the prism ecology and theories of invasive theories. The subtitle of the book: "How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction" does seem to be a bit of a stretch. Her theory definitely suggests that early domesticated dogs/wolves might have aided Homo Sapien (Modern Man) in dominating the apex guild of carnivores in Europe.
The book is also a bit more broad, because dominating that position, man with pup's help might have also been part of the eventual extinction of other large carnivores (Cave Bear, etc) and large mammals (mammoths). The book, however, is a bit more nuanced, recognizing that climate change also probably had pushed neanderthalensis near extinction, and the introduction of man to Europe might have been the final spear in the side of the Neanderthal.
I enjoyed the book and it systematically covered a lot of territory and synthesized a lot of literature surrounding this period. The writing was ok, just didn't blow me away. So, I enjoyed it, but it didn't exactly blow me away.
The book is also a bit more broad, because dominating that position, man with pup's help might have also been part of the eventual extinction of other large carnivores (Cave Bear, etc) and large mammals (mammoths). The book, however, is a bit more nuanced, recognizing that climate change also probably had pushed neanderthalensis near extinction, and the introduction of man to Europe might have been the final spear in the side of the Neanderthal.
I enjoyed the book and it systematically covered a lot of territory and synthesized a lot of literature surrounding this period. The writing was ok, just didn't blow me away. So, I enjoyed it, but it didn't exactly blow me away.
June 11, 2017
There are several intriguing ideas regarding how the histories of three species, Neanderthal, human, and wolf, came together. Though I suppose collided would describe it better. I was especially taken with how the author names human as the invasive species that they were, invading new lands and bringing about the demise of the indigenous species, a legacy we seem to have carried on. And the theory makes more sense to me than that climate change brought about Neaderthal’s extinction, as they had gone through many other severe climate changes before in their long history and survived just fine.
But the title is somewhat misleading, as even the author admits that Neanderthals may very well have already gone extinct by the time wolves had evolved into dogs. But the idea that two top predators, human and wolf, would create a partnership that would cause the extinction of many of the other top predators, was a compelling one.
Well written, always interesting, a good solid read.
But the title is somewhat misleading, as even the author admits that Neanderthals may very well have already gone extinct by the time wolves had evolved into dogs. But the idea that two top predators, human and wolf, would create a partnership that would cause the extinction of many of the other top predators, was a compelling one.
Well written, always interesting, a good solid read.
August 30, 2020
I think the title is a little deceptive. If you are interested In good general interest history in how the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens hashed it out in Europe back in the day then this book is not for you (or me). You can find out all you can learn from this book by reading a review or publishers summary. Unfortunately like many books written by academics the essential thesis of the book - dogs plus people = advantage over Neanderthals - is interesting but dragged out over too many pages in minute detail which would really only be of interest to fellow academics or students in my opinion.
November 12, 2024
REVIEW: 2024
Note: Read the hardcover.
Rating: 3.5 stars
I have nothing to add to my previous review, only that I was here for the dogs and they only appeared in chapter 12 (of 15). I could have used more dogs.
____________________________
REVIEW: 2019
DISCLAIMER:
I do not have a good relationship with audiobook - I tend to wool gather or fall asleep while listening to them. So I might have missed something and couldn't flip back to check.
____________________________
REVIEW:
This book is something of a detective/mystery novel where the author tries to find out why the Neanderthals went extinct. Her hypothesis makes use of ecological theory to suggest that modern humans have the same effect on the environment as any other invasive species competing with native animals for the same/similar resources - thus Neanderthals and other megafauna could have survived the cold climate at the time but could not survive the climate and the additional competition with modern humans and their pet wolves/dogs. The changing climate, changing food sources, other animals in the area, generic invasive species and their effects, hunting techniques, the arrival of modern humans, competition for the same/similar resources, as well as the domestication of wolves/dogs is discussed. The title of the book doesn't really fit with Shipman's hypothesis though, as according to the text, Neanderthals were already on their way out before homo sapiens (aka modern humans) migrated into Eurasia and the semi-domesticated wolf-dogs only arrived (according to available fossil evidence) after the Neanderthals were gone. The dogs only make an appearance about 3/4 through the book, if anyone is looking specifically for that information.
I'm not entirely convinced by her argument. The timing is a bit erratic, with Neanderthal populations declining before modern humans arrived and a large time gap between Neanderthals and domesticated wolves. She also doesn't take into account that dogs were domesticated from an extinct species of wolf that might not have behaved in the same way as the Grey wolves used in her study (she generally ignored all the other canid species and their interactions with humans). The author admits that there isn't enough evidence currently to say whether her hypothesis is correct or not, and that new advances in dating and additional fossil sites are required to either prove/disprove her hypothesis. Shipman's hypothesis of why modern humans domesticated wolves/dogs and Neanderthals didn't, is fairly interesting and new information seems to provide some confirming evidence. There is also some issue with her stating that Neanderthals ate only meat and didn't change their diet (especially in comparison with brown bear diet changes), when other studies state that some Neanderthals ate meat, others a mix, and some others ate mostly vegetables and thus changed their diet. There is also no mention of Denisovians (probably due to lack of evidence at time of publication). The DNA data on Neanderthal-Modern Human hybridization/interbreeding is also out of date. This makes me wonder what else is out of date and how that effects the hypothesis.
Pat Shipman helpfully makes a point of differentiating between speculation and inferences from hard, empirical evidence. There is a lot of space dedicated to dating of specific finds and analysis of particular fossil evidence. She does however, tend to repeat herself too often and harp on the same theme far too much (I got that humans are an invasive species after the first paragraph, I didn't need a whole chapter on the subject and several reminders throughout the book).
An interesting, but flawed, book.
NOTE ON AUDIOBOOK: Postel has a pleasant voice, narrates well and at a decent speed.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...
https://phys.org/news/2019-06-evoluti...
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/...
Note: Read the hardcover.
Rating: 3.5 stars
I have nothing to add to my previous review, only that I was here for the dogs and they only appeared in chapter 12 (of 15). I could have used more dogs.
____________________________
REVIEW: 2019
DISCLAIMER:
I do not have a good relationship with audiobook - I tend to wool gather or fall asleep while listening to them. So I might have missed something and couldn't flip back to check.
____________________________
REVIEW:
This book is something of a detective/mystery novel where the author tries to find out why the Neanderthals went extinct. Her hypothesis makes use of ecological theory to suggest that modern humans have the same effect on the environment as any other invasive species competing with native animals for the same/similar resources - thus Neanderthals and other megafauna could have survived the cold climate at the time but could not survive the climate and the additional competition with modern humans and their pet wolves/dogs. The changing climate, changing food sources, other animals in the area, generic invasive species and their effects, hunting techniques, the arrival of modern humans, competition for the same/similar resources, as well as the domestication of wolves/dogs is discussed. The title of the book doesn't really fit with Shipman's hypothesis though, as according to the text, Neanderthals were already on their way out before homo sapiens (aka modern humans) migrated into Eurasia and the semi-domesticated wolf-dogs only arrived (according to available fossil evidence) after the Neanderthals were gone. The dogs only make an appearance about 3/4 through the book, if anyone is looking specifically for that information.
I'm not entirely convinced by her argument. The timing is a bit erratic, with Neanderthal populations declining before modern humans arrived and a large time gap between Neanderthals and domesticated wolves. She also doesn't take into account that dogs were domesticated from an extinct species of wolf that might not have behaved in the same way as the Grey wolves used in her study (she generally ignored all the other canid species and their interactions with humans). The author admits that there isn't enough evidence currently to say whether her hypothesis is correct or not, and that new advances in dating and additional fossil sites are required to either prove/disprove her hypothesis. Shipman's hypothesis of why modern humans domesticated wolves/dogs and Neanderthals didn't, is fairly interesting and new information seems to provide some confirming evidence. There is also some issue with her stating that Neanderthals ate only meat and didn't change their diet (especially in comparison with brown bear diet changes), when other studies state that some Neanderthals ate meat, others a mix, and some others ate mostly vegetables and thus changed their diet. There is also no mention of Denisovians (probably due to lack of evidence at time of publication). The DNA data on Neanderthal-Modern Human hybridization/interbreeding is also out of date. This makes me wonder what else is out of date and how that effects the hypothesis.
Pat Shipman helpfully makes a point of differentiating between speculation and inferences from hard, empirical evidence. There is a lot of space dedicated to dating of specific finds and analysis of particular fossil evidence. She does however, tend to repeat herself too often and harp on the same theme far too much (I got that humans are an invasive species after the first paragraph, I didn't need a whole chapter on the subject and several reminders throughout the book).
An interesting, but flawed, book.
NOTE ON AUDIOBOOK: Postel has a pleasant voice, narrates well and at a decent speed.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...
https://phys.org/news/2019-06-evoluti...
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/...
July 4, 2015
In a small compass this book provides much to think about. Although its main focus and binding theme is the extinction of our fellow humans, the Neanderthals, and the reasons for it, from that centre it spreads out into a wide range of information and speculation, all adding up to a rich picture of the state of knowledge and theory about “invasion biology” and related topics.
To illustrate the complex of themes, Shipman considers the elimination and later reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Among other things, this also illustrates the effects of human intervention in ecological systems. Humans don’t like wolves, and there are good reasons for that: they are vicious carnivores that destroy animals of other species – including us if they have a chance – not only for food but for an excess of hunting energy. In Yellowstone a major target for wolves are the elk. Sure enough, when humans killed off and drove away the wolves, the elk population rose spectacularly – a good thing for elk. But these large herbivores then put massive pressure on the plants they consume, with the consequence that those plants diminished in frequency, affecting not only the elk themselves but other species that feed on the plants or shelter under them.
In the 1990s observers realised why such imbalances were occurring and wolves were reintroduced – a bad thing for elk. But a good thing for the species disturbed by the large elk population and, above all, a good thing for the ecological balance as a whole. The system that had evolved over thousands and millions of years started to heal itself. Shipman brings all this to life with a narrative from her own scientific observations – the story of an afternoon when wolves killed and fed on an elk but without consuming the entire cadaver. Human morality tells us – especially now – that it is a bad thing to kill without consuming. We justify the slaughter of our meat animals with the nourishment they provide, but if we slaughter more than we need, we feel that it is immoral. As Shipman continued to watch the scene, however, she saw the scavengers come for their meals – coyotes, even a grizzly bear as well as raptors, avian scavengers, and smaller creatures as well, all benefitting from the wolves’ kill. After the reintroduction of wolves, species which had been in decline recovered, while coyotes, having become “top dog” in the absence of wolves and consequently growing in numbers, now went into decline.
In this phase the wolves represent an invasion (even though driven by human intervention), and its result was that a vast readjustment of the entire inter-related ecological system took place. This sets the scene for the argument that the invasion of modern humans into spaces occupied by other hominids, specifically Neanderthals, brought about great changes there as well. The story is by no means as simple as this summary makes it seem. There are questions surrounding climate change, the kinds of tools used by Neanderthals and by modern humans and many other factors. Shipman lays them out with such clarity that the story is full of excitement. We learn about the investigative methods of palaeontologists, historical biologists, anthropologists, geneticists, neuroscientists and people working in other interrelated disciplines as well as about the lives of the people – yes people – they are investigating. This is a powerful story of human life, and it is not confined to tens of thousands of years ago, but is relevant to our lives today and tomorrow as well. For we humans continue to be the most successful invaders of biological spaces, and we, too, face climate change and the complex alterations to life that it brings.
When changing climate produced large steppes and open spaces where forests had been before, humans of all kinds were challenged to adapt their hunting techniques. Neanderthals used weapons that required close combat with their prey; they concealed themselves behind bushes and leapt out for the kill. Modern humans used throwing weapons, so that they could kill without approaching their prey so closely, consequently frightening them off less frequently, even in open spaces. That was one factor. And then it seems that modern humans somehow, over many generations, learned to band together in the hunt with certain mutated wolves – “dog-wolves” Shipman calls them, for they were not yet the dogs that evolved from dogs much later. They were not domesticated and certainly not pets (that came later), but they were allies in the fight for survival. Neanderthals apparently failed to form such alliances (the evidence is in the finding of bones in Neanderthal and modern settlements – again elucidated by Shipman). It seems that working out the consequences of this development has been Shipman’s personal contribution in this book, but she is generous in acknowledging the large numbers of other contributors to the overall picture, and concludes by assuring us that the work is exciting and still continuing, so that she anticipates with pleasure the obsolescence of the very book we are reading.
Informative and powerful in its expository and narrative skills, this is a book for people who want to know more about people, including the people who are revealing more and more of our nature from day to day.
To illustrate the complex of themes, Shipman considers the elimination and later reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Among other things, this also illustrates the effects of human intervention in ecological systems. Humans don’t like wolves, and there are good reasons for that: they are vicious carnivores that destroy animals of other species – including us if they have a chance – not only for food but for an excess of hunting energy. In Yellowstone a major target for wolves are the elk. Sure enough, when humans killed off and drove away the wolves, the elk population rose spectacularly – a good thing for elk. But these large herbivores then put massive pressure on the plants they consume, with the consequence that those plants diminished in frequency, affecting not only the elk themselves but other species that feed on the plants or shelter under them.
In the 1990s observers realised why such imbalances were occurring and wolves were reintroduced – a bad thing for elk. But a good thing for the species disturbed by the large elk population and, above all, a good thing for the ecological balance as a whole. The system that had evolved over thousands and millions of years started to heal itself. Shipman brings all this to life with a narrative from her own scientific observations – the story of an afternoon when wolves killed and fed on an elk but without consuming the entire cadaver. Human morality tells us – especially now – that it is a bad thing to kill without consuming. We justify the slaughter of our meat animals with the nourishment they provide, but if we slaughter more than we need, we feel that it is immoral. As Shipman continued to watch the scene, however, she saw the scavengers come for their meals – coyotes, even a grizzly bear as well as raptors, avian scavengers, and smaller creatures as well, all benefitting from the wolves’ kill. After the reintroduction of wolves, species which had been in decline recovered, while coyotes, having become “top dog” in the absence of wolves and consequently growing in numbers, now went into decline.
In this phase the wolves represent an invasion (even though driven by human intervention), and its result was that a vast readjustment of the entire inter-related ecological system took place. This sets the scene for the argument that the invasion of modern humans into spaces occupied by other hominids, specifically Neanderthals, brought about great changes there as well. The story is by no means as simple as this summary makes it seem. There are questions surrounding climate change, the kinds of tools used by Neanderthals and by modern humans and many other factors. Shipman lays them out with such clarity that the story is full of excitement. We learn about the investigative methods of palaeontologists, historical biologists, anthropologists, geneticists, neuroscientists and people working in other interrelated disciplines as well as about the lives of the people – yes people – they are investigating. This is a powerful story of human life, and it is not confined to tens of thousands of years ago, but is relevant to our lives today and tomorrow as well. For we humans continue to be the most successful invaders of biological spaces, and we, too, face climate change and the complex alterations to life that it brings.
When changing climate produced large steppes and open spaces where forests had been before, humans of all kinds were challenged to adapt their hunting techniques. Neanderthals used weapons that required close combat with their prey; they concealed themselves behind bushes and leapt out for the kill. Modern humans used throwing weapons, so that they could kill without approaching their prey so closely, consequently frightening them off less frequently, even in open spaces. That was one factor. And then it seems that modern humans somehow, over many generations, learned to band together in the hunt with certain mutated wolves – “dog-wolves” Shipman calls them, for they were not yet the dogs that evolved from dogs much later. They were not domesticated and certainly not pets (that came later), but they were allies in the fight for survival. Neanderthals apparently failed to form such alliances (the evidence is in the finding of bones in Neanderthal and modern settlements – again elucidated by Shipman). It seems that working out the consequences of this development has been Shipman’s personal contribution in this book, but she is generous in acknowledging the large numbers of other contributors to the overall picture, and concludes by assuring us that the work is exciting and still continuing, so that she anticipates with pleasure the obsolescence of the very book we are reading.
Informative and powerful in its expository and narrative skills, this is a book for people who want to know more about people, including the people who are revealing more and more of our nature from day to day.
October 19, 2018
While I learned a ton from this book about the various hypotheses about when and where and why the Neandertals took the nose dive into extinction, the book's title is highly misleading.
For instance, it takes 12 chapters (out of 15) before Shipman gets to the ideas of how wolf-dogs were first domesticated. These chapters are great. The notion that because humans have white scleras, this genetic development lead to more cooperation and nonverbal communication among individuals. Coupled with the fact that dogs look to humans for guidance and engage in facial cues and rely upon eye contact for their interaction with humans, points to a set of specific criteria that is both amazing and convincing. Humans with their jump in tool and weapon technology in addition to recruiting dogs to assist in hunting and warfare, creates a situation ripe for species dominance and mass extinctions (Neandertals, cave creatures, etc).
The first 12 chapters cover a tremendous amount of interesting ground - defining invasive species and making the case that humans acted in such a way; unpacking the required diets of Neandertals and Humans based on the left over bones in and around their camps; the development of tools required to adapt to changing climates; and quite a lot on the hunting and eating of Mammoths.
Overall, a great little book. I just wish there had been more about dogs and invasions.
For instance, it takes 12 chapters (out of 15) before Shipman gets to the ideas of how wolf-dogs were first domesticated. These chapters are great. The notion that because humans have white scleras, this genetic development lead to more cooperation and nonverbal communication among individuals. Coupled with the fact that dogs look to humans for guidance and engage in facial cues and rely upon eye contact for their interaction with humans, points to a set of specific criteria that is both amazing and convincing. Humans with their jump in tool and weapon technology in addition to recruiting dogs to assist in hunting and warfare, creates a situation ripe for species dominance and mass extinctions (Neandertals, cave creatures, etc).
The first 12 chapters cover a tremendous amount of interesting ground - defining invasive species and making the case that humans acted in such a way; unpacking the required diets of Neandertals and Humans based on the left over bones in and around their camps; the development of tools required to adapt to changing climates; and quite a lot on the hunting and eating of Mammoths.
Overall, a great little book. I just wish there had been more about dogs and invasions.
November 11, 2015
Interesting theory about the blood pact between humans and pooches to gang up on Neanderthals. Not convinced it is true. I think I saw my Yorkie nodding in solidarity as I was reading it though.
May 28, 2024
This was pretty entertaining but the thesis wasn't tight enough for me. I guess the central issue is that humans are a more invasive species than Neanderthals were, in part because of spears?, and we might have helped to drive Neanderthals to extinction by out-competing them. Our alliance with dogs might have made us even more invasive and able to out-compete and overhunt animals, but the time frame of that alliance is in question. The rest of the book felt like something between support for the thesis (good) and tangents to increase page count (bad).
August 7, 2018
I feel like this book could be subdivided into two distinct arguments. 1) Humans caused, though we're not the only cause, of the decline and extinction of Neandertals. 2) The specific advantage that aided humans was the alliance they formed with another Eurasian apex predator, the wolf. That the domestication of the wolf and the creation of the dog was the deciding factor. While I feel Shipman makes a compelling case for the first argument, I don't feel she quite makes the case for the second. The earliest found records of 'dogs', or wolf-dogs as she calls them, are from around 36,000 years ago. Ignoring the ongoing debate about whether these are dogs and the fact that they are far older than any previously found dog remains, the main problem is the timeline. The last Neanderthal remains are from around 44,000-39,000 years ago. Meaning there is a significant gap between her pieces of evidence. While I find the argument compelling and certainly interesting, she essentially concludes that there isn't enough evidence to say whether this is what occurred but that new advancements in dating and new dig sites may prove her hypothesis correct. This seems a little backward for a scientist and I'm left questioning her conclusions.
The book is definitely interesting and a pretty quick read. Would recommend to anyone who is a fan of our canine friends and their significant contribution to the rise of the modern human.
The book is definitely interesting and a pretty quick read. Would recommend to anyone who is a fan of our canine friends and their significant contribution to the rise of the modern human.
November 7, 2016
I had high hopes for this book but ended up feeling pretty ambivalent about it. From the beginning, the story is obviously headed towards trying to convince us that wolves were domesticated and used by humans for hunting in a way that contributed to the decline of Neanderthals. Shipman never makes the case in a convincing manner. It comes across as a way for a retired academic to publish an idea that the peer-reviewed literative would never have allowed. Nevertheless, it does highlight some interesting details about the time when Homo sapiens moved into Europe and overlapped in space and time with Neanderthals. I just wish she wouldn't have repeated the idea that climate change alone was not enough to explain the decline of Neanderthals. She must have stated this about 20 times (literally) throughout the text. I started thinking that if she said it again I would throw the book in the woodstove. Then she'd say it again and I'd grumble about how could she possibly dare and why she thought the readers were so daft she needed to keep repeating herself but then I got over it and decided I needed to mellow out and finished the damn thing
Not a great read but maybe worth it for the Neanderthal decline keeners.
Not a great read but maybe worth it for the Neanderthal decline keeners.
April 5, 2015
Not as ground-breaking as I'd hoped. Clan of the Cave Bear series covered all these topics (admittedly fictionalized but based on solid research). This was no fun unless you're a scientist interested in reading about various studies on the history.
May 30, 2019
Pat Shipman's thesis is that modern humans domesticated wolves (read: had dogs) whereas Neanderthals didn't, and therefore with the help of their wolf-dogs modern humans outcompeted and extincted Neandeethals and subsequently have taken over the world as an invasive species. While this book is filled with fun speculations and lots of facts, I find her thesis untenable. For one, Neanderthals never went extinct! They interbred with "modern humans" and still to this day, some Europeans are nearly 15% Neanderthal, genetically. Just because Neanderthal no longer exist, doesn't mean they went extinct. By that logic, Australopithecus afarensis went extinct because she doesn't still exist today, nevermind the fact that we can directly trace our maternal lineage from her. This is called adaptation, change, and evolution!
I take issue with some of the facts Shipman presents, for intance that Neanderthals primarily were hunters who ate meat. Recent evidence shows that this is wrong -- Neanderthal may have been largely vegetarian. With this in light, Shipman's thesis falls apart or at least loses relevancy. Vegetarian Neanderthals don't get outcompeted in the hunt.
Third, Shipman makes presumptions about canid domestication which are unnecessary. She mentions how somewhere along the lines humans evolved visible white scleras around our eyes, useful for communicating gaze over distance. Some canids, in particular wolves, have visible scleras. Shipman speculates that these shared traits allowed humans and wolves to communicate during the hunt, facilitating the domestication process. This line of reasoning is not necessary, because we know that ravens and wolves hunt cooperatively and yet they are very different, not at all sharing physiological traits. Whether humans have white scleras or not, interspecies communication and cooperation is always possible.
Essentially, Shipman adheres to a worldview of competition and resource scarcity as the primary drivers of modern human and Neanderthal divergence / emergence. By contrast, I see the evolutionary importance of cooperation, abundance, and adaptation.
I take issue with some of the facts Shipman presents, for intance that Neanderthals primarily were hunters who ate meat. Recent evidence shows that this is wrong -- Neanderthal may have been largely vegetarian. With this in light, Shipman's thesis falls apart or at least loses relevancy. Vegetarian Neanderthals don't get outcompeted in the hunt.
Third, Shipman makes presumptions about canid domestication which are unnecessary. She mentions how somewhere along the lines humans evolved visible white scleras around our eyes, useful for communicating gaze over distance. Some canids, in particular wolves, have visible scleras. Shipman speculates that these shared traits allowed humans and wolves to communicate during the hunt, facilitating the domestication process. This line of reasoning is not necessary, because we know that ravens and wolves hunt cooperatively and yet they are very different, not at all sharing physiological traits. Whether humans have white scleras or not, interspecies communication and cooperation is always possible.
Essentially, Shipman adheres to a worldview of competition and resource scarcity as the primary drivers of modern human and Neanderthal divergence / emergence. By contrast, I see the evolutionary importance of cooperation, abundance, and adaptation.
July 7, 2018
This brief book posits that human beings function like invasive species, and after establishing a few housekeeping facts (the background of climate change, the available evidence for judging human / neanderthal populations and their diets) argues that humans and Neanderthals were competing for the same space in some regions of the globe, rather like wolves and coyotes, and that humans drove neanderthals out because of their advanced tool usage and domestication of wolves. While Neanderthals did use tools and traps, discovered tools to date suggest that the Neanderthals were more ambush predators, hiding and taking their quarry in close quarters. We sapiens used more ranged weapons like thrown spears. The wolf-dogs enter the book's argument relatively late in the game (~ 50 pages from the book's end), so this is chiefly a work about sapiens v neanderthal competition. This is a book more of interest to those curious about ancestral man than his ancestral best friend, however.
Related
The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived, Clive Finlayson. Finlayson, who is quoted numerous times in The Invaders, emphasizes the role of climate change in stressing Neanderthal populations.
Related
The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived, Clive Finlayson. Finlayson, who is quoted numerous times in The Invaders, emphasizes the role of climate change in stressing Neanderthal populations.
July 1, 2015
I've been meaning to read Svante Paabo for some time and Chris Stringer's Lone Survivors for even longer - but an Overdrive audio copy of this came across my screen and I'd remembered Pat Shipman's name from when I was an anthropology student. This is a a popularized scholarly text like the other two books. I'm not sure I like the marketing decision of Belknap Press (aka Harvard) to bring dogs into the subtitle or the dramatic cover art, and the cover version for my audiobook is crazier (that sexy Neanderthal model isn't even on their web page anymore, hmm?). I don't know if this will turn out to have been the most entertaining of the three books, but Shipman's scholarship seems solid and her research is certainly interesting (all of it, not just about the wolf-dogs' and human's coordinated hunting).
August 28, 2020
Shipman has a great leap of insight, applying the experience of modern invasive species to the history of our own species. It's a flash that illuminates the deep past, when Cro-Magnon homo sapiens invaded Europe and a wave of extinctions followed. The insight itself takes little time to tell. It's the weighing of scientific evidence that takes up most of the book, and this gets technical. She presents charts on how the body sizes of predators influence the size of their prey, or comparisons of the mitochondrial DNA between fossil and living canids. However, the story shines through, and it's a tale of how humans and wolf-dogs first found their great alliance.
May 30, 2015
Reminds me of "Guns, Germs, and Steel"
October 11, 2017
Just read the last chapter, it describes the whole book
February 13, 2020
Here's a fun hypothesis for you: What if the reason we don't have Neanderthals is because they couldn't hang in an environment where they had to compete with us for resources? What if the reason they couldn't compete is because, in addition to their preposterously oversized skulls which had difficulty passing through the birth canal, they couldn't befriend wolves?
What if the reason they couldn't befriend wolves was because Neanderthal eyes were structurally similar to those of virtually every other primate, with no visible sclera, which made it difficult to read their facial expressions, especially with regard to what direction they were looking?
Neanderthals probably died off around the same time as we may or may not have domesticated the earliest dog-wolves, around 40,000 BC. Shipman suggests these events are not a coincidence, and points to our resultant co-evolution; we have domesticated dogs, but dogs have likely also domesticated us. Our brains are 10% smaller than they were back in the paleolithic, and cerebral shrinkage is a dead giveaway sign of domestication. Dogs are better at reading our tone, inflection, and facial expressions than any other animal, including our closest relatives, chimps and bonobos. Dogs are the only animal that will instinctively follow the direction you point your finger. Every other animal will just look at you (if you're lucky).
It's easy to see what we've done to dogs, you just have to look at European grey wolf, then look at pug. It's harder to determine what dogs have done to us. They probably played a role in neotenizing us, but that particular train has been runaway since the dawn of agriculture and it would be hard to pin something specific on them. They're likely responsible for human tendency to pack bond with Roombas, and the idea of "animal lovers" in general. 40,000 years ago, anybody with a particularly strong desire to hug a cat had a limited shelf-life.
Here's my favorite tidbits from this one:
Cats aren't domesticated, which is why they'll scratch the hell out of you if startled by something, even if you maintain that's your wittwe fwuffikins or whatever. If you returned a cat to nature, the woods of whatever, it could still survive, though probably not very well.
Dogs could not. We've made them too much like us, and they've become creatures caught between the wild and civilization. Some of the big fast fellas might have a chance, like Siberian huskies, but those who have gotten too far from wolfhood are goners.
The other, you know how humans and neanderthals interbred at one point? Yeah. Everybody knows that. Here's a fun new factoid: the genomic overlap only shows up in those of European and East-Asian descent.
From a strictly eugenic "blood purity" perspective, the Nazis got it back-asswards.
What if the reason they couldn't befriend wolves was because Neanderthal eyes were structurally similar to those of virtually every other primate, with no visible sclera, which made it difficult to read their facial expressions, especially with regard to what direction they were looking?
Neanderthals probably died off around the same time as we may or may not have domesticated the earliest dog-wolves, around 40,000 BC. Shipman suggests these events are not a coincidence, and points to our resultant co-evolution; we have domesticated dogs, but dogs have likely also domesticated us. Our brains are 10% smaller than they were back in the paleolithic, and cerebral shrinkage is a dead giveaway sign of domestication. Dogs are better at reading our tone, inflection, and facial expressions than any other animal, including our closest relatives, chimps and bonobos. Dogs are the only animal that will instinctively follow the direction you point your finger. Every other animal will just look at you (if you're lucky).
It's easy to see what we've done to dogs, you just have to look at European grey wolf, then look at pug. It's harder to determine what dogs have done to us. They probably played a role in neotenizing us, but that particular train has been runaway since the dawn of agriculture and it would be hard to pin something specific on them. They're likely responsible for human tendency to pack bond with Roombas, and the idea of "animal lovers" in general. 40,000 years ago, anybody with a particularly strong desire to hug a cat had a limited shelf-life.
Here's my favorite tidbits from this one:
Cats aren't domesticated, which is why they'll scratch the hell out of you if startled by something, even if you maintain that's your wittwe fwuffikins or whatever. If you returned a cat to nature, the woods of whatever, it could still survive, though probably not very well.
Dogs could not. We've made them too much like us, and they've become creatures caught between the wild and civilization. Some of the big fast fellas might have a chance, like Siberian huskies, but those who have gotten too far from wolfhood are goners.
The other, you know how humans and neanderthals interbred at one point? Yeah. Everybody knows that. Here's a fun new factoid: the genomic overlap only shows up in those of European and East-Asian descent.
From a strictly eugenic "blood purity" perspective, the Nazis got it back-asswards.
February 1, 2023
3.5 Stars
Every small advantage helps in an unpredictable climate.
This could be a little bit of a dense read at times, but I appreciated the detailed descriptions of the world Neanderthals lived in. The climate, flora, and fauna were described in long, flowing passages that painted a complex picture of how unstable the seasons could be from one year to the next if the Earth was melting or cooling at that moment in history. All of these pieces of the puzzle were important in order to understand the delicate balance that Homo sapiens were about to disrupt. As more circumstantial evidence that dogs played such a key role in the extinction of Neanderthals, I only grew more curious to see what other proof the author might have for her theory.
I wavered between choosing three and four stars for this book because of how long it took the author to share concrete evidence that supported the idea that dogs may have been domesticated much earlier than we think. About the first 80% discussed everything from why Ms. Shipman believes humans are an invasive species to the differences between Neanderthals and humans to the circumstantial evidence for her claims. As interested as I am in prehistory and Neanderthals in general, this could have been trimmed down to something the size of a novella that better matched what the title and blurb promised.
With that being said, the last 20% was compelling. I didn’t know about the early evidence of wolf domestication or how critical dogs may have been to the survival of Homo sapiens in what it now Europe back then. The author was at her best when she described the hard evidence for her theory and talked about the myriad of ways that the earliest dogs made the lives of hunter-gatherers easier back then. Some of her talking points were things I hadn’t considered before, and they will provide me food for thought for a long time to come.
The Invaders was a thought-provoking read. I’d recommend it to anyone who is already familiar with the most common theories about why Neanderthals disappeared and wishes to learn more.
Every small advantage helps in an unpredictable climate.
This could be a little bit of a dense read at times, but I appreciated the detailed descriptions of the world Neanderthals lived in. The climate, flora, and fauna were described in long, flowing passages that painted a complex picture of how unstable the seasons could be from one year to the next if the Earth was melting or cooling at that moment in history. All of these pieces of the puzzle were important in order to understand the delicate balance that Homo sapiens were about to disrupt. As more circumstantial evidence that dogs played such a key role in the extinction of Neanderthals, I only grew more curious to see what other proof the author might have for her theory.
I wavered between choosing three and four stars for this book because of how long it took the author to share concrete evidence that supported the idea that dogs may have been domesticated much earlier than we think. About the first 80% discussed everything from why Ms. Shipman believes humans are an invasive species to the differences between Neanderthals and humans to the circumstantial evidence for her claims. As interested as I am in prehistory and Neanderthals in general, this could have been trimmed down to something the size of a novella that better matched what the title and blurb promised.
With that being said, the last 20% was compelling. I didn’t know about the early evidence of wolf domestication or how critical dogs may have been to the survival of Homo sapiens in what it now Europe back then. The author was at her best when she described the hard evidence for her theory and talked about the myriad of ways that the earliest dogs made the lives of hunter-gatherers easier back then. Some of her talking points were things I hadn’t considered before, and they will provide me food for thought for a long time to come.
The Invaders was a thought-provoking read. I’d recommend it to anyone who is already familiar with the most common theories about why Neanderthals disappeared and wishes to learn more.
September 13, 2020
Хора, пътища и ... кучета.
И то няколко вида хора, нали се сещате - говорим за времето, когато земята е населявана от няколко вида от рода Homo. Като цяло книгата вероятно е насочена към интересуващите се по-тясно в полето на антропологията / палеоантропологията. Заглавието е силно изкривена форма на съдържанието. Няма обстоен разказ за Сапиенс, който придружен от верния си четириног другар изтиква Неандерталеца. Или поне това е много, ама много малка част от книгата и то в самия край на края ѝ. Вероятно е нова идея на авторката, която да привлече внимание към един по-общ, академичен разказ за вече познати истории.
Действително, за мен ще си открадна теорията ѝ за най-ранната връзка между Сапиенс и прародителя на днешното куче - основана на комплиментарни предимства по време на лов и съобразено със заобикалящата ги специфична среда.
И то няколко вида хора, нали се сещате - говорим за времето, когато земята е населявана от няколко вида от рода Homo. Като цяло книгата вероятно е насочена към интересуващите се по-тясно в полето на антропологията / палеоантропологията. Заглавието е силно изкривена форма на съдържанието. Няма обстоен разказ за Сапиенс, който придружен от верния си четириног другар изтиква Неандерталеца. Или поне това е много, ама много малка част от книгата и то в самия край на края ѝ. Вероятно е нова идея на авторката, която да привлече внимание към един по-общ, академичен разказ за вече познати истории.
Действително, за мен ще си открадна теорията ѝ за най-ранната връзка между Сапиенс и прародителя на днешното куче - основана на комплиментарни предимства по време на лов и съобразено със заобикалящата ги специфична среда.
April 20, 2016
I had the desire to read this book for quite some time, and this was due to Shipman appearing on an episode of Quirks and Quarks (amazing podcast, by the way). The result was a tedious desire for something more. The bulk of the book is basically an introductory to anthropology, and this wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't the majority the book. There were points reading this where I was like:
"Where are the dogs?"
"What is she going on about?"
"Why is it taking so long to get to the fucking dogs?"
Simply put, half of this book belongs in the For Dummies genre (this is not a snide remark, the For Dummies genre has a deserved place), and the other half would find a home in Time Magazine if it was skewed down.
"Where are the dogs?"
"What is she going on about?"
"Why is it taking so long to get to the fucking dogs?"
Simply put, half of this book belongs in the For Dummies genre (this is not a snide remark, the For Dummies genre has a deserved place), and the other half would find a home in Time Magazine if it was skewed down.
June 22, 2017
A "prosumer" discussion of Neanderthal extinction and the domestication of dogs by modern humans.
Presents an intriguing theory, but the theory isn't really enough to fill a book, and so the text is somewhat repetitive without bringing a lot of new information to the table.
Someone who hasn't read a lot of recent non-academic discussion of the latest knowledge about Neanderthal sites, dating, etc won't get a good picture of what we know, and someone who *has* read up will be saying "yes, yes, I know that, tell me something new. No, don't repeat your thesis over and over, please."
Interesting, a quick read, but lightweight.
Presents an intriguing theory, but the theory isn't really enough to fill a book, and so the text is somewhat repetitive without bringing a lot of new information to the table.
Someone who hasn't read a lot of recent non-academic discussion of the latest knowledge about Neanderthal sites, dating, etc won't get a good picture of what we know, and someone who *has* read up will be saying "yes, yes, I know that, tell me something new. No, don't repeat your thesis over and over, please."
Interesting, a quick read, but lightweight.
November 6, 2017
It's hard for me to review a science-based non-fiction speculation on prehistory, but...the title and cover really implied there'd be more dogs in it. You don't get to the dogs until about 80% of the way through the book, and even then there is very little written to support the subtitle of "How humans and their dogs drove Neanderthals to extinction." I realize this title was probably a marketing choice (put a dog on the cover and people will read it) but I was hoping for, as the book itself puts it, more "doggyness." As for the scientific research, it seems sound enough, but as I'm not a scientist, I can't evaluate that.
July 27, 2019
The author had interesting theories that may be controversial. Dogs made humans more efficiency hunter gatherers. She correlates the domestication of dogs from wolves with the appearance of multiple kill sites like mammoth butcher sites. As a result of greater hunting efficiency, Homo sapiens survived the climate changes of the last ice ages whether as the Neanderthal species did not.
She does not claim that Homo sapiens interacted much with Neanderthals as there is little evidence other than traces in our DNa. It’s a very enjoyable read overall.
She does not claim that Homo sapiens interacted much with Neanderthals as there is little evidence other than traces in our DNa. It’s a very enjoyable read overall.
December 26, 2016
Крайне интересная (возможно, только лишь потому, что это первая для меня лично книга на подобную тему) работа в виде гипотезы исчезновения неандертальцев, как результата объединения "современного homo sapiensa" с волками, а точнее с волкособаками.
В целом же, очень много увлекательного научного матеариала на тему инвазивных видов животных, примеры генетически-эволюционных процессов, да и просто описание быта тех времён и краткий альманах перемещений человека по этому миру.
В целом же, очень много увлекательного научного матеариала на тему инвазивных видов животных, примеры генетически-эволюционных процессов, да и просто описание быта тех времён и краткий альманах перемещений человека по этому миру.
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