A new paper on mitochondrial DNA published in PNAS today enlightens me to an older paper doubling the previous estimates of the age of dog domestication. According to Germonpré et al. (February 2009, Journal of Archaeological Science) a dog skull was recovered from Goyet, a cave in Belgium excavated back in the mid-19th century. Although there is some question about which level the skull comes from, it was direct-dated using AMS radiocarbon to 31,700 years ago. Germonpré et al. also report on what appear to be dog skulls from other securely dated Upper Paleolithic sites as well, including Mezhirich in the Ukraine (~15,000 years BP) and Chauvet Cave in France, in a level ~26,000 years ago.
Today's paper by Boyko et al. suggests that genetic variability in village dogs in Africa is broader than those in East Asia, leading these researchers to suggest that dogs were originally domesticated in Africa—or at least not, as long thought, in east Asia.
I don't really know enough about genetics to cover this story in detail, so here are the references. I'll add links to pertinent blogs and news stories as they come in over the next few days.
History of Dog Domestication, newly updated
Boyko, Adam R., et al. 2009 Complex population structure in African village dogs and its implications for inferring dog domestication history. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition) (in press, not yet live online)
Germonpré, Mietje, et al. 2009 Fossil dogs and wolves from Palaeolithic sites in Belgium, the Ukraine and Russia: Osteometry, ancient DNA and stable isotopes. Journal of Archaeological Science 36(2):473-490.
All I can say is "woof!"
New Stories
- Nicholas Wade, New York Times. Research undermines dog domestication theory. 3 August 2009.
- Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News: Dog Domestication Likely Began in Africa 3 August 2009
- Of Mutts and Men (press release, National Science Foundation) 3 August 2009
- Science Daily: African Village Dogs Are Genetically Much More Diverse Than Modern Breeds
- National Geographic: Where Did Dogs Become Our "Best Friends"?
- BBC News: Domestic dog origins challenged
Comments