Researchers have successfully isolated and scrutinized genetic material from 216 ancient canid specimens, with 181 of these originating from Paleolithic and Mesolithic European contexts. The most ancient genetic profile procured originates from a dog dating back 14,200 years, discovered at the Kesslerloch site in Switzerland. These findings indicate that domesticated canines (Canis lupus familiaris) emerged prior to the advent of agriculture and share a profound ancestral lineage with Eurasian wolves (Canis lupus), thereby prompting a re-evaluation of the origins and modalities of their domestication.
Bergström et al. discovered that canines were domesticated upwards of 14,000 years ago, and importantly, that canines inhabiting pre-agricultural Europe significantly influenced the genetic makeup of canines that existed during and after the agricultural era, as well as those present today. The accompanying illustration is by John James Audubon & John Bachman.
From gray wolves, canines were domesticated towards the conclusion of the last Ice Age, marking them as the inaugural species to forge a collaborative domestic bond with humanity.
The precise geographical locus of this domestication event, along with the human demographic or demographics involved, remains an enigma.
The earliest identifiable canid remains exhibiting characteristics suggestive of domestication have been unearthed in Europe, with chronological estimations placing them between approximately 14,000 and 17,000 years ago.
“As the sole domesticated animal to precede agriculture, the evolutionary trajectory of dogs offers valuable insights into how significant societal shifts influenced human history,” stated Dr. Pontus Skoglund of the Francis Crick Institute, the study’s senior author.
“It is quite remarkable that canines from the pre-agricultural epoch left such a substantial imprint on the genetic inheritance of agricultural and contemporary European dogs.”
“The significance of dogs to our ancestors is evident, as the initial agriculturalists appear to have incorporated existing hunter-gatherer dogs into their communities during their migrations across Europe.”
In the course of this investigation, the researchers undertook the analysis of genetic material extracted from 216 canid specimens, a cohort that included 181 samples predating the Neolithic period (prior to roughly 10,000 years ago), thus preceding the development of farming.
These specimens were sourced from various locations throughout Europe and its adjacent regions, encompassing Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Türkiye, Sweden, Denmark, and Scotland.
The scientific team employed a method known as ‘hybridization capture’ to enhance the yield of recoverable genetic material. This technique involved the design of specific probes engineered to selectively isolate canid DNA from the abundant microbial DNA, such as that from bacteria, which commonly contaminates ancient biological samples.
Initially, the scientists classified the specimens into distinct categories of dogs and wolves by assessing the degree of genetic similarity between each sample and contemporary dogs.
The classification of dog or wolf was feasible for a considerable 141 out of the 216 specimens, yielding some unexpected revelations.
A canid recovered from Belgium, dated to 13,700 years ago, which had previously been categorized as a dog owing to its diminutive size and evidence of anthropogenic alteration, was genetically identified as a wolf. This finding underscores the crucial role of genetic data in corroborating interpretations derived from the morphological examination of ancient remains.
Furthermore, the authors confirmed the canine identity of a specimen from the Kesslerloch cave in Switzerland, which had previously been posited as a dog.
Attaining an age of 14,200 years, this specimen represents the oldest individual analyzed in this study and ranks among the most ancient dog remains documented to date.
Prior research had indicated that dogs inherited ancestry from two separate wolf populations, one originating from Eastern Eurasia and another from Western Eurasia.
Through the application of a statistical modeling approach, the researchers demonstrated that all early European dogs included in this study can trace their lineage back to the Eastern wolf ancestral source, with some exhibiting minor contributions from the Western wolf source.
This novel evidence suggests that European wolves did not contribute discernibly to canine evolutionary development, and that early European dogs did not undergo independent domestication from Asian dogs, given their shared ancestral profile.
The genetic makeup of the Kesslerloch dog exhibited a greater resemblance to European dogs than to Asian dogs, implying that canine domestication occurred well in advance of 14,200 years ago to allow for the divergence of European and Asian dog lineages.
The expansion of agriculture into Europe coincided with a significant influx of human populations from Southwest Asia during the Neolithic period.
By constructing models of the ancestry of European dogs following the arrival of Neolithic farmers, the research team observed that the genetic shifts in dogs largely mirrored those in human genetics, albeit to a lesser extent.
This observation suggests that canines from indigenous hunter-gatherer groups residing in Europe contributed substantially to the genetic tapestry of dog populations coexisting with Neolithic farmers.
Moreover, genetic analyses of contemporary European dogs reveal a persistent genetic similarity to these Neolithic dogs, indicating that many prevalent European dog breeds may derive approximately half of their ancestry from canines that inhabited Europe prior to the advent of farming.
“Without the utilization of these sophisticated genetic methodologies, we would be unable to reliably differentiate between dogs and wolves based solely on skeletal evidence,” commented Dr. Anders Bergström of the University of East Anglia, the lead author of the study.
“Nor would we have been able to construct such a comprehensive overview of their evolutionary history.”
“Given that the Kesslerloch dog, at 14,200 years of age, was already genetically more akin to later European dogs than to Asian ones, domestication must have occurred considerably prior to this period, allowing sufficient time for these genetic distinctions to emerge.”
“Nevertheless, numerous questions persist; our research is ongoing concerning the precise location and mechanisms by which dogs dispersed across Europe subsequent to their probable domestication in Asia.”
“Each piece of evidence represents progress in this ongoing exploration.”
The findings of this study have been disseminated in the esteemed journal Nature.
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A. Bergström et al. 2026. Genomic history of early dogs in Europe. Nature 651, 986-994; doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10112-7
