Dogs First Domesticated In The Middle East

[SkySoaringMagpie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100317/od_uk_...uk_science_dogs

Dogs domesticated in Middle East, not Asia

Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – From French poodles to German shepherds, domestic dogs likely trace most of their ancestry to the Middle East, as opposed to East Asian origins suggested by previous research, a genetic study reported on Wednesday.

The findings, published in the online edition of the scientific journal Nature, support an archaeological record that closely links the domestication of dogs in the Middle East with the rise of human civilization there, scientists said.

"It's significant because this is where civilization developed, and dogs were part of that," said Robert Wayne, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a senior author of the study.

The region, often referred to as the Fertile Crescent, includes much of modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan --

"the same area where domestic cats and many of our livestock originated, and where agriculture first developed," he said.

The study is based on genetic comparisons between more than 900 dogs representing 85 breeds and over 200 wild gray wolves -- the closest living wild relative of dogs -- from around the globe, including North America, Europe, East Asia and the Middle East.

In the most extensive such analysis to date, scientists used molecular genetic techniques to examine more than 48,000 markers from across the entire genome -- or DNA sequence -- from each of the animals included in the study.

What they discovered was the vast majority of dogs share more unique genetic markers with gray wolves from the Mideast than with other wolf populations. A kinship to European wolves also was found, but to a lesser extent, Wayne said.

NUISANCE OR COMPANION?

One notable exception was the finding of a close genetic link between a small number of East Asian dog breeds and wolves from China, suggesting some intermingling between the two.

But the new research contradicts an earlier genetic study suggesting a close ancestry of all dogs to wolves from East Asia and China. That analysis was based on comparisons between a single, small DNA sequence taken from mitochondria -- tiny structures outside the nucleus of living cells that carry their own genes -- rather markers from entire genomes.

The newer research was far more comprehensive and "is much more consistent with the archaeological record," Wayne said.

"We know that dogs from the Middle East were closely associated with humans because they were found in human burial sites" there, he said. In one famous example, the remains of a puppy were found curled up in the arms of a human skeleton.

But the earliest bond between people and "man's best friend" was probably more often a love-hate relationship that persists in parts of the world to this day, and helps explain a cultural ambivalence towards dogs in the very region where they likely originated.

The archaeological record of dogs dates back 31,000 years to the remains of a Great Dane-like specimen found in Belgium. The first Mideast dogs appeared 12,000 to 13,000 years ago.

Although agriculture and animal husbandry go hand in hand, the first people to domesticate dogs from wild wolves probably were nomadic hunter-gatherers, who were followed at a distance by canine interlopers in search of scraps.

That relationship likely matured over thousands of years "to the point where these proto-dogs were living in close proximity with humans," and were often more of a nuisance than they were companions, Wayne said.

"Eventually dogs provided protection, an early warning system, maybe even helped out with the hunt, and then eventually, even closer in, provided companionship," he said.

While some dog breeds have ancient histories, 80 percent are modern varieties that have evolved since the explosion in dog breeding during the Victorian era, Wayne said.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Vicki Allen)

[Hetzer]

Very interesting reading and research. I found this article in the Daily Telegraph which echoes the above and discusses how the Australia Dingo could be the most similar dog to those initial ancient dogs.

[whippets]

Going by the heiroglyphs and the pictures in tombs that follow the life of a pharoah, I figured the first domesticated dogs where in egypt thus the pharoah hound or something similar. I was always under the impression that the first domesticated dogs were in the Middle East.

Edited March 18, 2010 by whippets

[Souff]

Has anyone done a time line on the Australian Aboriginal peoples relationship with the Dingo?

Would be interesting to see how it compares with the rest of the world's early places.

The very-learned-folk-who-study-these-things have now realised that the dingo pre-dates the wolf, and aboriginals have had a close relationship with dingoes for a very long time.

Souff

[Greytmate]

Going by the heiroglyphs and the pictures in tombs that follow the life of a pharoah, I figured the first domesticated dogs where in egypt thus the pharoah hound or something similar. I was always under the impression that the first domesticated dogs were in the Middle East.

It would seem rather obvious wouldn't it with the historical evidence we have. Good to see that science has confirmed this.

[Are You Serious Jo]

Has anyone done a time line on the Australian Aboriginal peoples relationship with the Dingo?

Would be interesting to see how it compares with the rest of the world's early places.

The very-learned-folk-who-study-these-things have now realised that the dingo pre-dates the wolf, and aboriginals have had a close relationship with dingoes for a very long time.

Souff

My buddy did this paper recently, let me know if you want it.

Smith, B. & Litchfield, C. (2009). A review of the relationship between Indigenous Australians, dingoes (Canis dingo) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Anthrozoös, 22 (2), 111-128.

[sandgrubber]

My guess is this story is shifting sand. My gut feeling is that there have been multiple domestication events . .. there is no wolf bitch Eve, but many wolves that have gotten closer to many populations of people and become domesticated to some extent. From what I know of anthropology, wolf-dogs started hooking up with hunter-gatherers -- as scavengers who removed waste and provided an alarm system -- long before the farming civilisations of the fertile crescent came to be. The genetics on this one will be messy, because dogs/wolves are so amazing in their ability to interbreed.

[whippets]

So it's possible the Dingo pre-dates the Wolf? Be a real wonder on the evolution of the dog then and how they spread across the world. Wonder what pre-dated the Dingo.