Scientists Discover That Dogs Were Domesticated 40 Thousand Years Ago

According to various investigations, dogs have been with us for thousands of years. Their ancestry comes from the wolves  and, with the passage of time and the evolution of man, they became what they are today: loyal companions, great guardians, efficient rescuers but, above all, a great company for children, the elderly and for anyone who wants to live with these adorable pets.

Hundreds of investigations have been carried out around the world to determine the origin of dogs and since when they have accompanied us. The answers to these questions can be found in research recently published in the prestigious journal Current Biology . The study claims that dogs evolved from wolves 40,000 years ago.  Scientists came to that conclusion after analyzing the genetic material of a Siberian wolf that lived 35,000 years ago. That sample suggests that humans may have started domesticating dogs between 27,000 and 40,000 years before our time.

Researchers theorize that the first domesticated dogs could have been the companions of humans who, during the ice age, hunted animals. Here we share some relevant points of this important finding.

What data did the samples found provide?

According to the research, several previous genetic analyzes had determined the separation of dogs and wolves between 10,000 and 30,000 years. The researchers relied on the sample of a rib bone, from which the DNA was extracted. The material was discovered on an expedition to the Taymyr peninsula, in Russia, during 2010. When they found the bone, the researchers first believed that it might have been from a reindeer that had died long, long ago. However, initial analysis showed that the piece came from the remains of a wolf and radiocarbon dating placed its age at around 35,000 years. It was thought to be long before the domestication of dogs, but the genetic code showed a nearly equal representation of DNA from wolves and modern dogs.

Research indicates that humans may have held wolves in captivity before they were fully domesticated, although dogs have likely retained the bodily characteristics of wolves for thousands of years. They could also have been domesticated by the first humans to inhabit the continents of Asia and Europe.

Even after the canids were separated from the genetic tree that contains the wolves, the researchers say, the two types of animals likely continued to interbreed for a prolonged period of time. From there they derive specimens such as Greenland dogs or Siberian huskies, which have shown that they have more genetic material from wolves than other canines. In that sense, if the analysis carried out by scientists is correct, then dogs were domesticated long before other species, such as chickens, pigs and cattle. In fact, some researchers believe that domesticated dogs may have aided Neanderthals in hunting.

Research findings

The results of these scientific investigations provide direct, longer-term evidence for determining the lineage of dogs and wolves, and therefore suggest that dogs may originate much earlier than is commonly accepted. The report contends that such early divergence coincides with several paleontological investigations of canids up to 36,000 years old.  There are also indications that could support the theory that domesticated dogs accompanied the first colonizers in America.

However, research reveals that the initial divergence between the ancestors of dogs and gray wolves did not necessarily have to coincide with domestication in the sense of selective breeding, as this human process could have occurred after or over a period of time. prolonged time.

The report also specifies that the ancestry of the current dog breeds is due to various events or domestication facts and, in the case of specimens such as the Siberian Husky and the Greenland dog, part of their ancestry can be traced in the Taimyr wolf, whose lineage is currently extinct.