article_snippet: It's thousands of years since mankind won dominance over nature, and we're still pretty proud.
article_snippet: But  a top researcher says we've been giving we too much credit - because we were helped by we oldest friends.
article_snippet: Man's best friend: An early cave painting in Libya of dogs chasing a deer in the Akakus Mountains.
article_snippet: A new theory has been put forward in a new book by leading anthropologist Pat Shipman of Pennsylvania State University.
article_snippet: Close relation: A Natural History museum employee examines a model of a Neanderthal during an exhibition last year.
article_snippet: The theory is the latest in a long line about our prehistoric ancestors, many of which contradict each other.
article_snippet: last year a study at the University of Tübingen in Germany claimed early humans emigrated from Africa far earlier than our first thought - and as many as 130,000 years ago.
highlights_snippet: Scientists  disagree on why - but top anthropologist may have the answer .
  