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Related: About this forumDogs have been working alongside humans for much longer than we thought
Ephrat Livni
June 23, 2017
Its time to rewrite the record on dogs with jobs. We all know humans have long bred canines into all sizes and shapes to do our biddingeven if thats just sitting in a queens sleeve or a celebritys purse. But we didnt know for how long wed been doing it.
Previously, researchers believed that canine breeding began 7,000 years ago with herding dogs in the Near East. New discoveries, published this May in the Journal of Archaeology, suggest the first work dogs were actually designed in Siberia at least 9,000 years ago, based on fossil carbon dating and the shape of the bones.
Vladimir Pitulko, an archaeologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, has been excavating bones on Zhokhov Island in Siberia since 1989. He long suspected that they belonged to dogs bred for sledding. In an effort to confirm exactly what type of animal a particular collection of bones belonged to, he compared the fossils of 11 individual animal remains to known wolf and modern Siberian husky bones found in the area.
The archaeologist wasnt surprised to find that the ancient bones did indeed belong to canines. He was surprised to see evidence of a breeding program indicating dogs were designed for specific functions.
More:
https://qz.com/1012526/the-dog-domestication-timeline-gets-an-update-thanks-to-new-discoveries-of-canines-bred-for-work-in-siberia-9000-years-ago/
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Dogs have been working alongside humans for much longer than we thought (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Jun 2017
OP
Warpy
(111,245 posts)1. Not surprising
since chasing herds of critters soon morphed into herding them (it was easier to travel shorter distances for dinner) and herding anything is pretty useless without a dog or three.
C Moon
(12,212 posts)2. Great article!
I would like to add here, that my dog is the most wonderful creature to ever roam the earth.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)3. Who's a good dog?