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Focal Interest
AI Summary of Peer-Reviewed Research

This page presents an AI-generated summary of a published research paper. The original authors did not write or review this article. [See full disclosure ↓]

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Early European dogs shared ancestry with later dogs worldwide

Two fossilized dog skulls photographed against a black background, showing detailed bone structure and anatomical features of ancient canine specimens.
Research area:Life SciencesGeneticsDomestication

What the study found

The study found that the oldest dog genome recovered, from a 14,200-year-old dog at Kesslerloch in Switzerland, shares ancestry with later dogs worldwide. It also found that this early dog is genetically closer to Mesolithic, Neolithic, and present-day European dogs than to Asian dogs.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors say these findings are inconsistent with the idea that European Upper Palaeolithic dogs came entirely from a separate domestication process. They also suggest that Mesolithic dogs likely contributed substantially to later Neolithic and probably modern European dogs, after Southwest Asian ancestry entered Europe in the Neolithic.

What the researchers tested

The researchers analysed 216 canid remains, including 181 from Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Europe. They developed a genome-wide capture approach that enriched endogenous DNA by 10-100-fold and used it to distinguish dog from wolf ancestry in 141 of the 216 remains.

What worked and what didn't

The approach recovered genome-wide data from ancient canid remains and identified the 14,200-year-old Kesslerloch dog as the oldest dog data in the study. The team found a Neolithic influx of Southwest Asian ancestry into Europe, but it appears to have been smaller in dogs than in humans.

What to keep in mind

The abstract does not provide detailed limitations beyond the available sample and the fact that the conclusions are based on the remains that could be genetically classified. It also does not describe every step of the analysis in detail.

Key points

  • The oldest dog genome recovered in the study came from a 14,200-year-old dog in Switzerland.
  • That dog shared ancestry with later dogs worldwide.
  • The early dog was closer to later European dogs than to Asian dogs.
  • The study analyzed 216 canid remains and classified dog versus wolf ancestry in 141 of them.
  • The authors report a Neolithic influx of Southwest Asian ancestry into Europe that was smaller in dogs than in humans.

Disclosure

Research title:
Early European dogs shared ancestry with later dogs worldwide
Publication date:
2026-03-25
DOI:
10.1038/s41586-026-10112-7
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: AI provenance information is not available for this post.

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