how dogs evolved from predator to pet... -

[DGUtley]

how dogs evolved from predator to pet... - Meet the Scientist Studying How Dogs Evolved From Predator to Pet

All modern dogs are descended from a wolf species that when extinct around 15,000 years ago. Grey wolves, pictured here fighting for food with now extinct dire wolves (red), are dogs’ closest living relative. Thousands of years ago, dogs as we know them didn’t exist. Instead, humans and wolves lived separate lives while inhabiting the same lands. Eventually, their proximity evolved into the companionship we have today. But despite the long history between humans and dogs, scientists are still unsure of how this friendship began.
For National Puppy Day, we chatted with Audrey Lin, a Peter Buck postdoctoral fellow and evolutionary molecular biologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, to learn about how humans of the past helped build the bond between us and our favorite furry friends.


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A dog burial in Koster, Illinois dated to 10,000 years ago. It is one of the oldest dogs in the Americas and the earliest known individual dog burial in the world.

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs...-predator-pet/

[Orion Rules]

What makes dogs different from other domesticated animals?

Dogs are unique in comparison to other domesticated animals because it appears that their breeding with its wild relative was restricted. If you look at ancient dog genomes, there is gene flow from dogs to wolves but not the other way around which is very unusual. If you look at early domesticated pigs, they mixed with wild boar all the time. The same is true for goats and sheep.