11,000-year-old dog skulls rewrite story of domestication

A skull used in the study. PIC COURTESY/C Ameen

A major archaeological investigation has uncovered when domestic dogs first started developing the wide range of shapes and sizes familiar today.

Using advanced techniques to examine the form of hundreds of ancient dog remains collected from across tens of thousands of years, the research team tracked the early appearance of distinct dog types far back in prehistory. Their analysis identifies the point at which dogs began to branch out in body size and skull structure, placing this shift at least 11,000 years ago.

The results overturn the common belief that most canine diversity emerged only in recent centuries through selective breeding associated with the Victorian Kennel Clubs. Instead, the study shows that dogs were already displaying notable differences in skull size and shape thousands of years earlier, soon after they separated from their wolf ancestors.

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No of canid skulls the team studied since 2014

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