Bond between dogs and humans dates back more than 15,000 years, study finds | Animal behaviour

They are humanity’s best friends, and ancient DNA analyzes have revealed that the enduring bond between dogs and humans dates back more than 15,000 years.

This groundbreaking research, published in the journal Nature, pushes back the oldest genetic evidence for domestic dogs by 5,000 years, revealing that hunter-gatherers fed the animals and gave them ritual burials long before the emergence of agriculture.

The oldest specimen, dating back 15,800 years, was buried alongside human remains in Anatolia, Turkey. The second oldest ever recorded, a jawbone dating back 14,300 years, was discovered in Gough Cave in Somerset, inhabited by a tribe known for their cannibalistic rituals.

Dr Lachie Scarsbrook, from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and co-first author of the study, said: “This means that 15,000 years ago, dogs of very different ancestry already existed across Eurasia, from Somerset to Siberia. This raises the possibility that domestication took place during the last ice age, more than 10,000 years before the appearance of other plants or domestic animals.”

Previously, archaeological evidence strongly suggested that dogs were domesticated from gray wolves before the end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago. But until now, the oldest direct genetic evidence for dogs was only 10,900 years old, because the DNA in older bones was too fragmented to be able to confidently distinguish dogs from wolves. The precise dating, location and circumstances of domestication therefore remained shrouded in mystery.

“For a long time, the only way to know whether something was a dog or a wolf was to look at the bones, which is not necessarily that reliable,” said Dr Anders Bergström, a lecturer at the University of East Anglia and formerly of the Francis Crick Institute. He was also the first author of a second study analyzing more than 200 ancient specimens of dogs and wolves. “Someone said, ‘It’s a dog,’ and another person said, ‘No, it’s a little wolf.'”

The latest findings, published by two international teams, provide unprecedented details of how our ancient partnership with dogs took root and show that modern European dog breeds, from bulldogs to Labradors, share much of their ancestry with those living alongside ancient hunter-gatherers in Europe. The dogs probably had the appearance of small wolves, possibly with shorter snouts and less powerful jaws.

“We don’t expect them to look like a chihuahua,” Scarsbrook said.

The first paper, involving Scarsbrook and scientists from the Natural History Museum in London, analyzed DNA from bones from Gough’s Cave, UK, Pınarbaşı in Turkey and two sites in Serbia. Advanced sequencing techniques have made it possible to piece together tiny fragments of ancient DNA to reconstruct entire genomes, which could enable clear species identification for the first time.

The results revealed that dogs were already widespread in Europe and western Asia at least 14,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of bones found in Türkiye revealed that the dogs consumed a diet rich in fish, matching the local human diet. Similar eating patterns have been observed in other locations, suggesting that the dogs were deliberately fed by humans.

There was also evidence of deep emotional connections. The bones of three puppies were found buried on the legs of a human in Pınarbaşı, reflecting the complex burials of humans carried out by this group. At Gough’s Cave, where local people performed macabre rituals with human remains, the ancient dog’s jawbone appeared to have holes intentionally dug into it on either side. It is quite possible, the researchers concluded, that the pet dogs were also eaten after death.

The close genetic relationship between dogs from the three sites suggests that, once domesticated, dogs may have spread rapidly across Europe, possibly being exchanged between unrelated groups.

“The fact that people exchanged dogs so early means that these animals must have been important,” said Professor Laurent Frantz, of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and lead author. “They must have served a purpose beyond being pets. It’s crazy to think that they would have fed this fairly large carnivore just out of the kindness of their hearts because they look cute.”

Dogs may have increased hunting efficiency or serve as an early warning system against predators.