TEXAS: New research suggests dogs first came to the Americas only about 10,000 years ago, which would have been thousands of years after humans first showed up
In the study, a team of researchers analyzed the genetic characteristics of 84 individual dogs from more than a dozen sites in North and South America. According to the researchers, this was the largest ever analysis of ancient dogs.
Kelsey Witt, graduate student at the University of Illinois and also the co-author of the study, said, “Dog genetic diversity in the Americas may date back to only about 10,000 years ago.”
“This also is about the same time as the oldest dog burial found in the Americas. This may not be a coincidence,” added Ripan Malhi, anthropology professor at the University of Illinois and the co-author of study.
The researchers analyzed new DNA samples from ancient dog remains, which were found in Colorado and British Columbia, and from a site in Southern Illinois, which is known as Janey B. Goode. The Janey B. Goode site is located near the ancient city Cahokia, which is the largest and first known metropolitan area in North America.
The researchers found that dozens of dogs were ceremonially buried at Janey B. Goode. Most dogs were buried individually, but some were placed buried back-to -back in pairs. This suggested that people in Janey B. Goode had a special reverence for dogs. Meanwhile, in Cahokia dog remains were burned, and were sometimes found with food debris. This implied that dogs were sometimes consumed by humans.
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