Genomic history of early dogs in Europe
: Bergström Anders; Furtwängler Anja; Johnston Sarah; Rosengren Erika; Breidenstein Abagail; Booth Thomas; McCabe Jesse B.; Peto Jessica; Williams Mia; Kelly Monica; Tait Frankie; Baumann Chris; Radzeviciute Rita; Barrington Christopher; Anastasiadou Kyriaki; Gilardet Alexandre; Glocke Isabelle; Sherman Mattias; Brativnyk Anastasia; Herbig Alexander; Prüfer Kay; Pfrengle Saskia; Gretzinger Joscha; Feuerborn Tatiana R.; Reiter Ella; Linderholm Anna; Charlton Sophy; Racimo Fernando; Mikkola Lea; Anderson-Whymark Hugo; Baird Douglas; Gotfredsen Anne Birgitte; Bocherens Hervé; Bridault Anne; Brocke Rainer; Drucker Dorothée G.; Fairbairn Andrew S.; Frantz Laurent; Gasparyan Boris; Giemsch Liane; Germonpré Mietje; Janssens Luc; Kandel Andrew W.; Kjær Kurt; Lázničková-Galetová Martina; Loponte Daniel; Magnell Ola; Martin Louise; Münzel Susanne C.; Mustafaoğlu Gökhan; Måge Bjørnar; Perri Angela; Pfenninger Franziska; Roblíčková Martina; Roman-Binois Annelise; Sarıtaş Özlem; Schäppi Katharina; Sheridan J. Alison; Sjögren Karl-Göran; Storå Jan; Sørensen Lasse Vilien; Tafelmaier Yvonne; Ter-Nedden Florian; Thalmann Olaf; Larson Greger; Schuenemann Verena J.; Krause Johannes; Skoglund Pontus
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
: 2026
Nature
: 651
: 986
: 994
: 0028-0836
: 1476-4687
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10112-7
: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10112-7
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/516039289
The earliest morphologically identifiable dogs are from Europe and date to at least 14,000 years ago, although early remains are also found in other regions. The origin of early dogs in Europe, and their relationships to other dogs, has remained elusive in the absence of genome-wide data. Similarly, although dogs were the only domestic animal to predate agriculture, little is known about how the arrival of Neolithic farmers from Southwest Asia affected the dogs living with European Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Here we analysed 216 canid remains, including 181 from Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Europe. We developed a genome-wide capture approach that enriched endogenous DNA by 10–100-fold and could distinguish dog from wolf ancestry for 141 of 216 remains. The oldest dog data that we recovered are from a 14,200-year-old dog from the Kesslerloch site in Switzerland, and we find that it shares ancestry with later worldwide dogs—inconsistent with the hypothesis that European Upper Palaeolithic dogs derived wholly from a separate domestication process. The Kesslerloch dog already displays more affinity to Mesolithic, Neolithic and present-day European dogs than to Asian dogs, demonstrating that dog genetic diversification had started well before 14,200 years ago. We find a Neolithic influx of Southwest Asian ancestry into Europe, but this seems to have been of smaller magnitude than in humans, suggesting that Mesolithic dogs contributed substantially to Neolithic, and, ultimately, probably also modern, European dogs.
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A. Bergström was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (grant no. PLP-2023-281). P.S. was supported by a UKRI Horizon guarantee/ERC Consolidator award (grant no. UKRI338), the European Molecular Biology Organisation, the Vallee Foundation, the European Research Council (grant no. 852558), the Wellcome Trust (grant no. 217223/Z/19/Z) and Francis Crick Institute core funding (grant no. FC001595) from Cancer Research UK, the UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
