“Did man domesticate wolves into dogs, or were dogs already a separate species by the time they were domesticated — a species more conducive to being domesticated?”
You can’t even get today’s scientists to agree as to whether Dogs & Wolves constitute separate species, or are a single species. The “single species” group is in the minority, but they are pointing at the genetic similarities which is fairly recent evidence, I suppose.
Do you think wolves, coyotes, jackals, dingos and all the rest look down their muzzles at dogs?
I remember a Larson cartoon, two wolves at the edge of woods looking over a (former?) pack mate hanging around the curtilage of a caveman campfire: “Look at his eyes, the cringing submission, I tell you, Sid’s domesticated!”
I think DNA tests ruled-out jackals as dog ancestors, and that’s a good thing, I think.
Domestication of dogs is now believed to be much earlier than used to be the case, and that’s based on remnants of DNA from dog remains that were also RC-datable.