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ogs Likely Originated in Europe More Than 18,000 Years Ago, Biologists Reportol!es likely "ere do#esti$ated %y European hunter&gatherers #ore than 18,000 years ago and gradually e!ol!ed into dogs that %e$a#e household pets, '(LA li)e s$ientists report*+e )ound that instead o) re$ent "ol!es %eing $losest to do#esti$ dogs,an$ient European "ol!es "ere dire$tly related to the#,+ said Ro%ert ayne, a pro)essor o) e$ology and e!olutionary %iology in '(LAs (ollege o) Letters and -$ien$e and senior author o) the resear$h* +This %rings the geneti$ re$ord into agree#ent "ith the ar$haeologi$al re$ord* Europe is "here the oldest dogs are )ound*+

The '(LA resear$hers geneti$ analysis is pu%lished .o!* 1/ in the ournal -$ien$e and )eatured on the ournals $o!er*

n related resear$h last May, ayne and his $olleagues reported at the Biology o) 2eno#es #eeting in .e" York the results o) their $o#parison o)the $o#plete nu$lear geno#es o) three re$ent "ol) %reeds 3)ro# the Middle East, East Asia and Europe4, t"o an$ient dog %reeds and the %o5er dog %reed*

+e analy6ed those si5 geno#es "ith $utting&edge approa$hes and )oundthat none o) those "ol) populations see#ed to %e $losest to do#esti$ dogs,+ ayne said* +e thought one o) the# "ould %e, %e$ause they represent "ol!es )ro# the three possi%le $enters o) dog do#esti$ation, %ut none "as* All the "ol!es )or#ed their o"n group, and all the dogs )or#ed another group*+

The '(LA %iologists also hypothesi6ed at that $on)eren$e that a no"&e5tin$t population o) "ol!es "as #ore dire$tly related to dogs*

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7or the $urrent study in -$ien$e, the resear$hers studied 10 an$ient +"ol)&like+ ani#als and eight +dog&like+ ani#als, #ostly )ro# Europe* These ani#als "ere all #ore than 1,000 years old, #ost "ere thousands o) yearsold, and t"o "ere #ore than 0,000 years old*

The %iologists studied the #ito$hondrial .A o) the ani#als, "hi$h is a%undant in an$ient re#ains* 3Mito$hondria are tiny su%&$ellular stru$tures"ith their o"n s#all geno#e*4 By $o#paring this an$ient #ito$hondrial.A "ith the #odern #ito$hondrial geno#es o) 99 do#esti$ dogs, :; "ol!es and )our $oyotes, the resear$hers deter#ined that the do#esti$ dogs "ere geneti$ally grouped "ith an$ient "ol!es or dogs )ro# Europe && not "ith "ol!es )ound any"here else in the "orld or e!en "ith #odern European "ol!es* ogs, they $on$luded, deri!ed )ro# an$ient "ol!es that inha%ited Europe and are no" e5tin$t*

ayne said that that the do#esti$ation o) predatory "ol!es likely o$$urred a#ong an$ient hunter&gatherer groups rather than as part o) hu#ansde!elop#ent o) sedentary, agri$ultural&%ased $o##unities*

+The "ol) is the )irst do#esti$ated spe$ies and the only large $arni!ore hu#ans e!er do#esti$ated,+ ayne said* +This al"ays see#ed odd to #e*Other "ild spe$ies "ere do#esti$ated in asso$iation "ith the de!elop#ent o) agri$ulture and then needed to e5ist in $lose pro5i#ity to hu#ans*This "ould %e a di))i$ult position )or a large, aggressi!e predator* But i) do#esti$ation o$$urred in asso$iation "ith hunter&gatherers, one $an i#agine "ol!es )irst taking ad!antage o) the $ar$asses that hu#ans le)t %ehind && a natural role )or any large $arni!ore && and then o!er ti#e #o!ing#ore $losely into the hu#an ni$he through a $o&e!olutionary pro$ess*+

The idea o) "ol!es )ollo"ing hunter&gatherers also helps to e5plain the e!entual geneti$ di!ergen$e that led to the appearan$e o) dogs, he said* ol!es )ollo"ing the #igratory patterns o) these early hu#an groups "ould ha!e gi!en up their territoriality and "ould ha!e %een less likely to reprodu$e "ith resident territorial "ol!es* ayne noted that a group o) #odern "ol!es illustrates this pro$ess*

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+e ha!e an analog o) this pro$ess today, in the only #igratory population o) "ol!es kno"n e5isting in the tundra and %oreal )orest o) .orth A#eri$a,+ he said* +This population )ollo"s the %arren&ground $ari%ou during their thousand&kilo#eter #igration* hen these "ol!es return )ro# the tundra to the %oreal )orest during the "inter, they do not reprodu$e "ithresident "ol!es there that ne!er #igrate* e )eel this is a #odel )or do#esti$ation and the reprodu$ti!e di!ergen$e o) the earliest dogs )ro# "ild"ol!es*

+e kno" also that there "ere distin$t "ol) populations e5isting ten o) thousands o) years ago,+ ayne added* +One su$h "ol), "hi$h "e $all the#ega)aunal "ol), preyed on large ga#e su$h as horses, %ison and perhaps !ery young #a##oths* sotope data sho" that they ate these spe$ies,and the dog #ay ha!e %een deri!ed )ro# a "ol) si#ilar to these an$ient"ol!es in the late

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hat )ound in #ito$hondrial .A 3appro5i#ately =0,000 %ase pairs4* This is $hallenging %e$ause the nu$lear .A o) an$ient re#ains tends to %e$o#e degraded*

hile ayne plans to pursue this )ollo"&up resear$h, he said he does note5pe$t a nu$lear geno#e analysis to $hange the $entral )inding* ?o"e!er,he said, it "ill )ill in #ore o) the details*

+This is not the end&story in the de%ate a%out dog do#esti$ation, %ut think it is a po"er)ul argu#ent opposing other hypotheses o) origin,+ he said*

There is a s$ienti)i$ de%ate o!er "hen dogs "ere do#esti$ated and "hether it "as linked "ith the de!elop#ent o) agri$ulture )e"er than 10,000 years ago, or "hether it o$$urred #u$h earlier* n the ne" -$ien$e resear$h, ayne and his $olleagues esti#ate that dogs "ere do#esti$ated %et"een 18,000 and =,000 years ago*

The resear$h "as )ederally )unded %y the .ational -$ien$e 7oundation*

(o&authors on the -$ien$e paper in$lude Ola) Thal#ann, a )or#er postdo$toral s$holar in aynes la%oratory "ho is $urrently the Marie (urie

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