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I develop an understanding of the dingo's relationship with Aboriginal people through a synthesis of historical, ethnographic, and archaeological literature and Indigenous perspectives to better conceptualise the interactions between Eurasian Palaeolithic humans and wolves leading to domestication of dogs. Human-wolf interactions leading to domestication were likely initiated by people capturing wolf pups to rear at home; this was likely followed by the adult wolves residing in or around the camp in at least a commensal fashion. The dingo's case demonstrates that even millennia of commensal association between humans and a wild canid do not necessarily result in phenotypically visible domestication. Hence, it is apparent that careful, ongoing management involving direct selection was required in the development of dogs from wolves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]