The discovery of ancient dog bones in France point to a European origin for man's best friend.
Humans domesticated dogs from wild wolves, and genetic and archaeological studies have indicated that domestication could have occurred in East Asia and the Middle East, as well as in Europe. Maud Pionnier-Capitan at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and her team uncovered dozens of remains of small dogs (pictured) at two sites in southern France and another near Paris. The fossils are 11,500–15,500 years old, making them contemporaries of much larger ancient dogs found in Russia. This indicates that dog domestication may have occurred independently in various parts of Europe and Asia.
Furthermore, some of the bones bore cut marks, suggesting that ancient humans ate some of the canines.
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Another origin of domestic dogs. Nature 475, 427 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/475427c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/475427c
