Dog DNA study reveals the incredible journey of man's best friend
by Tim Radford from on (#XS6F)
Descended from the grey wolf, domesticated dogs have been companions to humans for about 33,000 years, a genetic study has shown
Man's proverbial first best friend was probably a grey wolf that may have made contact with the first human companions about 33,000 years ago, somewhere in south-east Asia.
About 15,000 years ago, a small pack of domesticated dogs began trotting towards the Middle East and Africa. Canis lupus familiaris made it to Europe about 10,000 years ago, and when civilisation began in the Fertile Crescent, and humans began to build farmsteads and villages with walls, dogs were already there to help keep guard, herd the first flocks, and demand to be taken for a walk.
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