SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Where did dogs first arrive on the scene? Scientists have long debated that question, and now a study of doggie DNA from around the world is pointing to Central Asia.
Man's best friend may have evolved somewhere near what is now Nepal and Mongolia, researchers say.
Previous studies have suggested southern China, the Middle East, Siberia and Europe as the place where our first domesticated animal arose from wolves at least 15,000 years ago.
For the new work, Adam Boyko of Cornell University and others analyzed DNA from 549 dogs that represented 38 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East and islands north and east of Australia. The animals weren't house pets, but rather "village dogs" that wandered freely in the streets or fields.
The researchers examined the DNA for signals of where the dogs had the most ancient roots. That pointed to Central Asia. The analysis did not tackle the contentious question of when dogs appeared.
Genetic structure in village dogs reveals a Central Asian domestication origin [abstract]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday October 22 2015, @10:34AM
Anyway, how are you defining "dog"? There was no first dog, no big bang which suddenly created a dog from a non-dog. There were kinda-doglike things, which probably weren't dogs, then there were doglike things, which were arguably dogs, and then there were dogs - where do you draw the line.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves