Ancient Relationship Between Humans and Dogs in the Americas Unveiled by Recent Research

Recently published in the journal Science Advances, a study reveals that as early as around 12,000 years ago, humans in the Americas had already established a close relationship with the ancestors of modern dogs, about 2,000 years earlier than previously recorded. This research, based on archaeological findings in Alaska, provides new insights into how Native Americans in the Americas interacted with early dogs and wolves.

In 2018, a research team from the University of Arizona discovered a shinbone of an adult dog at a long-term archaeological site about 70 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. Using radiocarbon dating, they determined that this dog lived around 12,000 years ago, during the late Ice Age. In June 2023, researchers unearthed a jawbone of a dog dating back approximately 8,100 years at another archaeological site south of Delta Junction, Alaska, also showing possible signs of domestication.

Chemical analysis of these bones revealed a diet rich in salmon protein, indicating that these dogs frequently consumed fish. This dietary pattern was uncommon among canids of that time, as they typically preyed on land animals. Researchers suggest that this dietary shift is likely related to their dependence on humans.

Scientists believe that these archaeological findings represent the earliest known relationship between humans and canids in the Americas. However, it is currently uncertain whether these canids were the earliest domesticated dogs in the Americas.