Read the following passage and match each theoretical claim regarding the self-domestication model of dogs with the specific textual excerpt from the passage that serves as its direct supporting evidence.
Passage
For decades, evolutionary biologists have debated the mechanisms underlying the transition from wild wolves to domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). The traditional 'active taming' hypothesis suggests that Upper Paleolithic hunters actively captured wolf pups, hand-reared them, and selectively bred those with desirable traits. However, recent fossil evidence from archaeological sites in Siberia and Europe has challenged this view, prompting the development of the 'self-domestication' or 'commensal scavenger' model. Proponents of this theory argue that wolves initiated contact by scavenging around human hunter-gatherer camps. Wolves with shorter flight distances (less fear of humans) were more successful at accessing human food refuse. Over generations, these bolder wolves reproductively isolated themselves from wild populations, leading to anatomical and behavioral changes. While critics point out that early human waste heaps were likely insufficient to sustain a wolf subpopulation, defenders of the self-domestication model cite isotopic analyses of Paleolithic canine bones. These analyses reveal a distinct diet rich in human-provided food scraps rather than the large game typically hunted by wild wolves. Thus, rather than active human intervention, dog domestication may have begun as an evolutionary response to a new ecological niche created by human settlements.
- The claim that wolves, rather than humans, took the initial step in the domestication process by visiting human settlements."Proponents of this theory argue that wolves initiated contact by scavenging around human hunter-gatherer camps."
- The claim that specific behavioral traits, such as reduced fear, gave certain wolves an evolutionary advantage."Wolves with shorter flight distances (less fear of humans) were more successful at accessing human food refuse."
- The claim that ancient canines actually consumed human food scraps rather than hunting wild game."These analyses reveal a distinct diet rich in human-provided food scraps rather than the large game typically hunted by wild wolves."