A refined proposal for the origin of dogs: the case study of Gnirshohle, a Magdalenian cave site.

ABSTRACT: Dogs are known to be the oldest animals domesticated by humans. Although many studies have examined wolf domestication, the geographic and temporal origin of this process is still being debated. To address this issue, our study sheds new light on the early stages of wolf domestication during the Magdalenian period (16-14 ka cal BP) in the Hegau Jura region (Southwestern Germany and Switzerland). By combining morphology, genetics, and isotopes, our multidisciplinary approach helps to evaluate alternate processes driving the early phases of domestication. The isotope analysis uncovered a restricted, low δ¹⁵N protein diet for all analyzed Gnirshöhle specimens, while morphological examinations and phylogenetic relationships did not unequivocally assign them to one or the other canid

SUBMITTER: Baumann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7933181 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature