Ancient Domestic Dog Bone Found in Spain’s Basque Country

Alex Espitia
·2 min read
Ancient Domestic Dog Bone Found in Spain's Basque Country
Ancient Domestic Dog Bone Found in Spain's Basque Country
dog bone basque
dog bone basque

(Photo credit: ANDER GILLENEA via Getty)

A humerus bone found in Spain’s Basque country is uncovering dog domestication’s shrouded history. The study, published in the Journal of Archeological Science, details how researchers uncovered the bone’s origins, and what it means for researchers going forward.

A Long Journey for a Dog Bone

A 1985 excavation in the northern town of Zeskoa discovered the bone. At the time, researchers knew that the bone belonged to a canine, however, they were unable to determine which species. Now, almost 40 years later, Professor Conchi de la Rúa and her team at the University of the Basque Country’s (UPV/EHU) Human Evolutionary Biology group are providing answers.

According to the university’s magazine, they determined that the bone belonged to Canis lupus familiaris, better known as the domestic dog. Additionally, de la Rúa’s team was able to carbon date the bone to between 17,410-17,096 BP. That being the case, the bone is now the earliest evidence of domestic dogs on the European continent.

After referencing other dog bones from the same time, researchers determined that the bone shared a similar genetic lineage. Specifically, the Erralla dog — as it’s being called — lived during the Magdalenian period in the upper Paleolithic era. Interestingly, This lines up with the Last Glacial Maximum, a moment of cold climate that took place 22,000 years ago.

Rewriting the History of European Dogs

According to de la Rua, “These results raise the possibility that wolf domestication occurred earlier than proposed until now, at least in western Europe.” The professor added, “the interaction of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers with wild species, such as the wolf, may have been boosted in areas of glacial refuge…during this period of climate crisis.”

Uncovering our history with dogs is not an easy task. However, what we do know is that humans and dogs have been together for a while. Some scientists even speculate that dogs have been beside us for up to 40,000 years. Thanks to research like de la Rúa’s, every day we learn more about how coveted dogs have been throughout human history.

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