There are many things we know today about our best friends, the ARISTODOGS. We make progress in countless aspects, thanks to disciplines such as ethology, a science whose fathers, Konrad Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen, we have already told you about on other occasions. But even today there are aspects that are still not entirely clear. Either due to a lack of findings that provide answers, or due to a lack of unanimity on the part of the international community.
Some time ago, we shared with you extremely relevant information: the most complete genealogical tree of dogs to date, as it includes the genetic sequences of 161 dog breeds. A very important milestone that clarifies which were those primordial breeds, from which many of the breeds that exist today developed.
However, the origin of dogs continues to be one of those aspects that generate debate and controversy. There is agreement on the direct relationship of dogs to domesticated wolves, but not on the origin of these groups, nor on when it happened. In fact, the answers provided by paleontology and genetics are quite different.
The most recent study, published in Nature Communications, states that modern dogs may have originated from a single group of domesticated wolves in Europe around 40,000 years ago.
To analyze the genetic origin of dogs, researchers first sequenced the genomes of the remains of two Neolithic dogs. The first was around 7,000 years old and the other, approximately, 4,700. Both were discovered in archaeological sites in Germany.
First, scientists compared the genetic information of these two dogs. Then they compared it with the DNA of other 5,000-year-old dogs found in Ireland. And finally, with that of 5,649 modern dogs and wolves. This led them to the following surprising conclusion: according to the study's authors, the results of this analysis suggest that all ARISTODOGS today come from a single group of wolves domesticated about 40,000 years ago in Europe. This is due to the high degree of genetic elements shared by ancient and modern samples.
However, Laura Botigué, one of the co-authors of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at Stony Brook University, states in the International Business Times UK that genomic analysis of ancient samples is a relatively new field. And that to solve the problem of when and where dogs were first domesticated, older samples from many other geographical regions would be needed. But, she admits, this is undoubtedly a start.
However, these results contradict the findings reported in an article published in 2016 in the journal Science. In this study, which was endorsed by the evolutionary biology department of the University of Oxford, it was suggested that dogs were domesticated at two different times and from different wolf populations, in Europe and East Asia. In other words, the possibility of two independent domestication events was discussed.
As we said, there is still much to investigate, much to discuss, much to learn. But every day we are closer to finding out. And when that happens, many other unknowns associated with the origin and domestication of dogs will also be cleared up. We will keep you informed!
