Anonymous4 days ago
Two studies published in Nature in March 2026 identified the oldest known genetic evidence of domestic dogs, dating to roughly 15,800 years ago at sites in England and Türkiye — about 5,000 years earlier than the previous genetic record. The findings, based on whole-genome sequencing of 27 canid specimens from six archaeological sites, show that a genetically homogeneous dog population was already spread across Europe and Anatolia by at least 14,300 years ago, raising new questions about where and how wolves first became dogs.