US EditionAncient DNA Pushes Dog Domestication Back 5,000 Years
Genetic analysis of over 200 ancient dog and wolf genomes reveals dogs were widespread among hunter-gatherers 5,000 years earlier than previously confirmed, researchers say.
- On Wednesday, researchers published findings in the journal Nature confirming dogs have lived alongside humans for at least 15,800 years, pushing back the known domestication timeline by 5,000 years.
- Genetic research suggests dogs descended from gray wolves during the last glacial maximum roughly 26,000 to 20,000 years ago, as populations were forced into shared refuges in northern Eurasia.
- Scientists identified ancient dog remains at Pinarbasi in Turkey and Gough's Cave in England dating to 14,300 years ago, confirming canines were widely distributed across Europe and western Asia.
- Archaeological evidence indicates these early dogs were well-tempered members of human groups; researchers found that humans at Pinarbasi fed their dogs fish and buried them alongside their own dead.
- While these studies clarify the timeline, the exact geographic origin of dog domestication remains a mystery, though geneticist Anders Bergström of the University of East Anglia in England believes the process likely happened in Asia.
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98 Articles
Two recent studies, based on DNA research, question previous research that estimated at about 11,000 years the first links between humans and canidians.Where do dogs come from and since when do they accompany humans? New studies establish their presence in Europe nearly 16,000 years ago, or 5000 years earlier than previous research assessed. "The origin of dogs – likely a mixture of two types of grey wolves – remains an interesting mystery," for…
Where do dogs come from and since when do they accompany people? New studies place their presence in Europe almost 16,000 years ago, that is 5,000 years earlier than they estimated previous research.
Previous research estimated the first links between man and canid at about 11,000 years of age, but two studies revealed by "Nature" and based on DNA research are pushing this estimate.
Bone from Britain’s oldest known dog found in a Somerset cave 14,000 years later
A jawbone fragment unearthed from a Somerset cave has transformed our understanding of when humans first formed bonds with domesticated dogs.DNA testing has confirmed the specimen from Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge belonged to one of the earliest known domestic dogs, living alongside people in Britain roughly 14,300 years ago.This remarkable finding pushes back confirmed evidence of dog domestication by an astonishing 5,000 years.The discovery p…
World’s Oldest Dog Identified at Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Site
The Gough’s Cave dog’s mandible in lateral view. Credit: William A. Marsh et al. / CC BY 4.0 Archaeologists have identified what may be the world’s oldest known dog at a prehistoric hunter-gatherer site in what is now central Turkey, shedding new light on when humans first formed close ties with canines. The remains were first uncovered in 2004 at Pınarbaşı, where a team led by Douglas Baird discovered three small canine skeletons placed in a pi…
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