"The groundbreaking research, published in the journal Nature, pushes back the oldest genetic evidence for domestic dogs by 5,000 years, revealing that hunter-gatherers were feeding the animals and giving them ritual burials long before the emergence of agriculture."
"This means that by 15,000 years ago, dogs with very different ancestries already existed across Eurasia, from Somerset to Siberia. This raises the possibility that domestication occurred during the last ice age, more than 10,000 years before the appearance of any other domestic plants or animals."
"Previously, archaeological evidence strongly suggested that dogs had been domesticated from grey wolves before the end of the last ice age, about 12,000 years ago. But until now the oldest direct genetic evidence for dogs dated to just 10,900 years."
Research indicates that the relationship between dogs and humans extends back more than 15,000 years, with evidence of domestication occurring during the last ice age. The oldest known dog remains, found in Anatolia, Turkey, date to 15,800 years ago, while a jawbone from Somerset is 14,300 years old. This pushes back previous estimates of dog domestication, suggesting that dogs with diverse ancestries existed across Eurasia long before agriculture emerged. The study provides clearer genetic evidence, overcoming challenges in distinguishing between dogs and wolves.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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