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> 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 s
by WaitWaitWha 3y ago
> 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.
- mcpackieh 3y agoYeah 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.
- rsynnott 3y ago> politically motivated conclusion I... think the relevant politics are a bit obsolete.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- mcpackieh 3y agoI think the archaeologist's conclusion is motivated by resentment of the 'elite'. He finds a small dog skeleton and concludes that it's evidence of elites flexing on plebs. This interpretation of the evidence is motivated by his personal political feelings.
- rsynnott 3y agoEh... seems like a bit of a stretch; it's 1800 years ago, and the fact that wealthy Romans in the 3rd century tended to be a bit on the comically decadent side isn't exactly news. However, this would have been something of a political issue _at the time_; there is absolutely _nothing_ that Romans loved so much as moaning about other Romans being decadent. Arguably, if this was common practice, we might expect to documentary evidence in such moaning-oriented writings. :)