Ever wonder how so many different types of dogs exist today? What gave rise to so much diversity? How long have dogs been around? Have they always been companions to humans? What made them different from wolves?
An international research consortium, consisting of genetic scientists, paleontologists and archeologists has been working together to solve some of the mysteries regarding the evolution of dogs. A paper was published in Science magazine last week in which these scientists reported that dogs evolved over 11,000 years ago. The scientists performed genome sequencing on ancient DNA derived from the skeletons of 27 dogs, after going through the remains of 2000 dogs.
They determined that there were at least 5 different types of dogs during the time right after the Ice Age, 11,000 years ago: the dogs of New Guinea, Near East, northern Europe, Siberia and the Americas. They determined that these diverse and genetically distinct ancestries of dogs evolved at that time. The lead authors of the study were from the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London and Oxford University.
It is believed that around 15,000 years ago, certain wolves evolved into dogs. As humans evolved and migrated, the dogs too would become companions and would move across the globe. It is surmised that the lack of diversity among European dogs during early times might have resulted from one type of dog dominating over the other varieties. So, Europe went from a very diverse population of dogs to a less diverse variety. The scientists are continuing their research as they keep looking into the genomes of dogs from all over the world.
Improvements in technology have opened up new doors into understanding archeological, anthropological and paleontological specimens. Recent developments continue to challenge previously held notions of how evolution and migrations occurred. For example, this week human remains from 9,000 years ago were discovered at an archeological excavation site who appears to have been a hunter in Peru.
The research was reported on November 4th in the Journal Science Advances. Archeologists found 24 tools that would have been used in hunting big game alongside a female in a burial site. They analyzed the enamel of the teeth for a protein that would confirm that it was indeed a biological female.
Bibliography
Bergström, Anders, et al. “Origins and Genetic Legacy of Prehistoric Dogs.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 30 Oct. 2020, science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6516/557/tab-article-info.
Francis Crick Institute. “Study of Ancient Dog DNA Traces Canine Diversity to the Ice Age.” Crick, 29 Oct. 2020, www.crick.ac.uk/news/2020-10-29_study-of-ancient-dog-dna-traces-canine-diversity-to-the-ice-age.
Grimm, David. “How Dogs Tracked Their Humans across the Ancient World.” Science, 29 Oct. 2020, www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/how-dogs-tracked-their-humans-across-ancient-world.
Haas, Randall, et al. “Female Hunters of the Early Americas.” Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1 Nov. 2020, advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/45/eabd0310.
Haas, Randy. “Prehistoric Female Hunter Discovery Upends Gender Role Assumptions.” National Geographic, 5 Nov. 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/11/prehistoric-female-hunter-discovery-upends-gender-role-assumptions/.
