Chennai: An international study by a team of archeologists has found that there were five different types of dogs more than 11,000 years ago in the period immediately following the Ice Age.
This discovery has shed light on the origin of the many different lineages of humanity’s best friend.
Published in the journal Science, the study sequenced ancient DNA from 27 dogs, some of which lived up to nearly 11,000 years ago, across Europe and Siberia.
The scientists, including those from Francis Crick Institute in the UK, found that that by this point in history, just after the Ice Age and before any other animal had been domesticated, there were already at least five different types of dogs with distinct genetic ancestries.
According to the findings, the diversity observed between dogs in different parts of the world today originated when humans were still hunters and gatherers.
Pontus Skoglund, study co-author from Francis Crick Institute, said, “Some of the variation you see between dogs walking down the street today originated in the Ice Age. By the end of this period, dogs were already widespread across the northern hemisphere.”
In the study, the scientists extracted and analysed the genetic material DNA from skeletal material of the dogs.
The team showed that over the last 10,000 years, these early dog lineages mixed and moved to give rise to the dogs we know today.
Pointing out to an example, they said early European dogs were initially diverse, appearing to originate from two highly distinct populations, one related to Near Eastern dogs and another to Siberian dogs.