Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
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Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
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Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#2So a puppy?
>This, along with the fact that she might have even been buried with her owner, makes it far more likely that she was kept as a house dog
Based on certain details we're lacking, this is either heartwarming or disturbing.
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#3Seems like this is a rewrite of https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/22/oxfordshire-roma... (which, to be fair was linked to towards the end, although not as prominently as it should have been) with some added color and removed details.
It was not a puppy according to this quote from the Telegraph article:
Maiya Pina-Dacier, an archaeologist with DigVentures, said that this dog was fully grown when it died and so tiny, it must have been “adorable”: “In previous periods, you don’t get evidence of pets like this. But, when the Romans arrive, you start finding signs of smaller dogs.”
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#4> Breeding tiny dogs as pets “seems to be a Roman phenomenon that I suspect ties in with conspicuous consumption by the elite and other attempts at wealth and showiness,” ...
I am not sure this is the only path for dogs to be "tiny". In nature, animal divergence based on environment can and does occur quite frequently. I can easily see dogs specialize in hunting for specific food sources and over generations adjust to be better hunters.
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#5smithsonian on this discovery:
> The tiny pup was likely a beloved pet, not an animal bred for hunting or herding
uhh those aren't the only three possibilities tho
wikipedia on the history of actual chihuahuas:
> In a letter written in 1520, Hernan Cortés wrote that the Aztecs raised and sold little dogs as food.
and in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoloitzcuintle:
> Sixteenth-century Spanish accounts tell of large numbers of dogs being served at banquets.[5] Aztec merchant feasts could have 80–100 turkeys and 20–40 dogs served as food.[6]
how would you distinguish beloved pets from food animals? well, plausibly by quantity, or by the form of burial. perhaps the villa only had one or two lap dogs?
> The pint-sized pup is one of 15 small- to medium-sized dogs discovered at the villa.
uhh eww
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#6> Breeding tiny dogs as pets “seems to be a Roman phenomenon that I suspect ties in with conspicuous consumption by the elite and other attempts at wealth and showiness,” ... I am not sure this is the only path for dogs to be "tiny". In nature, animal divergence based on environment can and does occur quite frequently. I can easily see dogs specialize in hunting for specific food sources and over generations adjust t…
Yeah that seems like a politically motivated conclusion. Most of the modern small dog breeds were originally bred to do things like hunt badgers in small burrows. It was probably so in the past as well, even if those reasons have been lost to time.
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#7> Breeding tiny dogs as pets “seems to be a Roman phenomenon that I suspect ties in with conspicuous consumption by the elite and other attempts at wealth and showiness,” ... I am not sure this is the only path for dogs to be "tiny". In nature, animal divergence based on environment can and does occur quite frequently. I can easily see dogs specialize in hunting for specific food sources and over generations adjust t…
Yeah that seems like a politically motivated conclusion. Most of the modern small dog breeds were originally bred to do things like hunt badgers in small burrows. It was probably so in the past as well, even if those reasons have been lost to time.
> politically motivated conclusion
I... think the relevant politics are a bit obsolete.
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#8I don't get saying that is has legs and body like a dachshund and then conclude that its not the body of a hunting dog. Dachhunds whole layout is how it is to facilitate hunting.
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#9smithsonian on this discovery: > The tiny pup was likely a beloved pet, not an animal bred for hunting or herding uhh those aren't the only three possibilities tho wikipedia on the history of actual chihuahuas: > In a letter written in 1520, Hernan Cortés wrote that the Aztecs raised and sold little dogs as food. and in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoloitzcuintle : > Sixteenth-century Spanish accounts tell of large…
Eww? Lots of nobles kept kennels.
Re: Remains of Chihuahua-Sized Dog Unearthed at Roman Britain Villa
#10smithsonian on this discovery: > The tiny pup was likely a beloved pet, not an animal bred for hunting or herding uhh those aren't the only three possibilities tho wikipedia on the history of actual chihuahuas: > In a letter written in 1520, Hernan Cortés wrote that the Aztecs raised and sold little dogs as food. and in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoloitzcuintle : > Sixteenth-century Spanish accounts tell of large…
Eww? Lots of nobles kept kennels.
I think kragen is joking that with amount of dogs found one could just as well argue that the dogs were livestock and not pets.