The Geographic Origins of Dogs? Most Likely, Central Asia!

Where in the world…?

While it is fairly well known that the canine species appeared least 15,000 years ago and developed from Eurasian gray wolves, the question of where exactly that first occurred has been open. The New York Times and other news outlets have been reporting on a recent study investigating the origins of the dogs of today. The study, authored and researched by Laura Shannon and Adam Boyko of Cornell University, along with scientists from around the globe, focused on both purebred and “village” dogs across the world.  

The researchers concluded that there is “strong evidence that dogs were domesticated in Central Asia, perhaps near present-day Nepal and Mongolia.” The investigation backing that conclusion was impressive in its thoroughness. Statistics behind the research include identifying and studying three types of canine DNA from more than 4,500 dogs; test dogs represented various breeds and villages, and hailed from 38 countries.

Read the full Times article.

 

Read the National Academy of Sciences PANS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) journal article submitted by the scientists involved in the project.