Dog Fossils Show Early Canine Domestication from a Cave in Germany

A bunch of canine fossils from a single cave found in Germany have shown astonishing inherent diversity, encompassing almost the full extent of dog domestication, from wild wolf to the present-time hound.

ScienceAlert reported that based on studies, the age of these notable specimens, including dogs, foxes, and wolves are older than almost 60 other olden canines that lived between 14,000 and 3,000 years back in Europe.

Furthermore, their mitochondrial genomes' reconstruction seems to match the collective difference of nearly all ancient canines assessed from this region at present.

A similar report posted on Mail Online described the small cave called Gnirshohle as the center of the Hegau Jura region, home to many caverns which humans occupied approximately 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is known identified as a 'Magdalenian hotspot,' which refers to the ancient cultures of the time of western Europe.

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Potential Stage for Animal Domestication

Examining the variants, genetics and of many of these Gnirshohle bones, the study investigators have exhibited a potential stage for animal domestication, one of the most inclusive collections of canine genomes both in space and time.

In their research, the study authors wrote that interestingly, research focusing on the analysis of various ancient dogs' nuclear genomes proposed a one origin of modern dog. However, it is unsuccessful in p providing a geographic location for such an occurrence.

Also in their study that was published in Scientific Reports (A refined proposal for the origin of dogs: the case study of Gnirshöhle, a Magdalenian cave site), the researchers wrote they cannot answer the question of singularity of domestication event. But their findings back the hypothesis that this region was a potential center of early European wolf domestication.

Dogs are considered the first domesticated animals in general, in the history of humans, although the exact detail on place, date and the reason this occurred remains unknown.

Closeness of the Oldest Dogs to Humans

Identifying the difference between the first domesticated dogs and their wolf counterparts is very difficult and rather subjective, specifically since this change took place in prolonged continuing stages.

In general, though, it is accepted that the oldest dogs emerged in Europe and Siberia roughly 16,000 years ago.

According to the Germany-based University of Tubingen biogeologist Chris Baumann, the closeness of these animals to humans, as well as the specifications of a rather controlled diet propose that from 16,000 to 14,000 years back, wolves had already been domesticated and were kept like dogs.

The biogeologist added, one of the European domestic dogs' origin could as a result, be discovered in southwestern Germany.

Nevertheless, that does not rule out other areas where dogs were independently trained and kept from grey wolves.

In effect, the Gnirshohle canids' genes have introduced a formerly unrecognized lineage that does not match other dogs that exist in the region.

Therefore, there is a possibility that this lineage could denote populations of dogs from elsewhere worldwide. For the time being, the said possibility remains a speculation.

None of the genetics or the teeth of the Gnirshohle remains were adequate to tell if such canids were wolves, dogs or somewhere in the middle.

Interestingly though, their diets seemed to be low in protein, such proposes these animals had, to some extent, adjusted to more controlled meals than they would have in the wild, probably under the influence of humans.

A Stockholm University YouTube video below shows the dogs' origin as revealed in prehistoric DNA: