Humans Domesticated Dogs 9,000 Years Ago, Study Finds

[FAM Times reporter Jennylyn Gianan] According to archaeological research published in May, dogs were being raised for work in Siberia at least 9,000 years ago.

Before this discovery, the oldest archaeological evidence of humans intentionally breeding dogs dated back 7,000 years.

Vladimir Pitulko, an archaeologist at a scientific research institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, spent 30 years comparing 11 animal bones excavated in Siberia with the bones of modern wolves and Siberian huskies to identify which animals the unearthed bones came from.

Examining the excavated bones, he determined that they belonged to canids and found that the dogs had been bred for specific purposes.

Pitulko said the dogs were bred in two sizes for two different purposes. The smaller dogs had bones of a size suited to tirelessly running across Arctic ice and pulling sleds. He estimated that the larger dogs—dog-wolf hybrids resembling but somewhat larger than present-day malamutes—were likely used to hunt polar bears. Remains of earlier sleds were found at the same site as the bones, and it is already known that people who once lived in the region hunted polar bears.

Some archaeologists said Pitulko's findings could provide a key to answering why dogs first began to be domesticated.

According to the research, domestication began around 15,000 years ago, when the Earth grew warmer and small game began moving around more frequently.

From then on, dogs likely helped humans hunt small game, the report said.

Jennylyn Gianan fam1@pcss.co.kr