Dogs, friends of man from the Upper Paleolithic

2002/11/22 Orobengoa, Olatz - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Eboluzioa
• Zoologia

When the man migrated from Asia to America, he already carried the dog with him. This is what a group of biologists from the Technical Institute of Stockholm have deducted. For this purpose, the DNA of wolves and canine races (mitochondrial DNA) have been compared.

Thus, they have discovered that the wolf and the dog were distributed 15,000 years ago, that is, it was then when the dog stayed. In addition, in the East Asian canine races, a greater genetic richness has been found than in Europe, Western Asia and America. For this reason, researchers believe that dogs may reside in East Asia and from there to the whole world.

Another genetic study conducted in the United States has confirmed Swedish theory. Analyzing the DNA of fossil dogs found in North American and South American sites, the American canine races also come from Asia. In addition, the dates coincide with the approach of the Swedes, who claim that the dog arrived in America between 12.000-14,000 years ago.

Needless to say, since those times the relationship between man and dog has become very close, and a third research they have published has confirmed it. According to a study at the Institute of Zoology in London, the dog is the animal that best knows and interprets the gestures of the human being. It is undoubtedly a direct consequence of the long coexistence between both.