An international team has studied the archaeological and genetic records of ancient people and dogs.
Researchers led by archaeologist Dr Angela Perri, of Durham University, found that the first people to come to the Americas, more than 15,000 years ago from north-east Asia, were accompanied by their dogs.
They discovered that canine domestication likely took place in Siberia more than 23,000 years ago, and people eventually moved west towards Europe and east towards the Americas.
The Americas were one of the last regions of the world to be settled by people, by which time dogs had been domesticated.
Dr Perri said: “Dog domestication occurring in Siberia answers many of the questions we’ve always had about the origins of the human-dog relationship.
An international team has studied the archaeological and genetic records of ancient people and dogs.
Researchers led by archaeologist Dr Angela Perri, of Durham University, found that the first people to come to the Americas, more than 15,000 years ago from north-east Asia, were accompanied by their dogs.
They discovered that canine domestication likely took place in Siberia more than 23,000 years ago, and people eventually moved west towards Europe and east towards the Americas.
The Americas were one of the last regions of the world to be settled by people, by which time dogs had been domesticated.
Dr Perri said: “Dog domestication occurring in Siberia answers many of the questions we’ve always had about the origins of the human-dog relationship.
The first people to settle in the Americas likely brought their own canine companions with them, according to new research which sheds more light on the origin of dogs.
An international team of researchers led by archaeologist Dr Angela Perri, of Durham University, UK, looked at the archaeological and genetic records of ancient people and dogs.
They found that the first people to cross into the Americas before 15,000 years ago, who were of northeast Asian descent, were accompanied by their dogs.
The researchers say this discovery suggests that dog domestication likely took place in Siberia before 23,000 years ago. People and their dogs then eventually travelled both west into the rest of Eurasia, and east into the Americas.
An international team has studied the archaeological and genetic records of ancient people and dogs.
Researchers led by archaeologist Dr Angela Perri, of Durham University, found that the first people to come to the Americas, more than 15,000 years ago from north-east Asia, were accompanied by their dogs.
They discovered that canine domestication likely took place in Siberia more than 23,000 years ago, and people eventually moved west towards Europe and east towards the Americas.
The Americas were one of the last regions of the world to be settled by people, by which time dogs had been domesticated.
Dr Perri said: “Dog domestication occurring in Siberia answers many of the questions we’ve always had about the origins of the human-dog relationship.
Credit: Ettore Mazza
The first people to settle in the Americas likely brought their own canine companions with them, according to new research which sheds more light on the origin of dogs.
An international team of researchers led by archaeologist Dr Angela Perri, of Durham University, UK, looked at the archaeological and genetic records of ancient people and dogs.
They found that the first people to cross into the Americas before 15,000 years ago, who were of northeast Asian descent, were accompanied by their dogs.
The researchers say this discovery suggests that dog domestication likely took place in Siberia before 23,000 years ago. People and their dogs then eventually travelled both west into the rest of Eurasia, and east into the Americas.