A new study revealed early bonds between humans and dogs.

14,300-year-old dog jawbone from Gough’s Cave, UK

14,300-year-old dog jawbone from Gough’s Cave, UK (Image: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum)

Dogs were living alongside humans in Europe and Turkey around 16,000 years ago, a new study published reveals. Researchers analysed ancient DNA from archaeological sites, including Gough's Cave in the UK and Pınarbaşı in Turkey, dating back to approximately 16,000-14,000 years ago, a time when all humans were hunter-gatherers and agriculture had not yet emerged. The findings have confirmed that these were some of the earliest known domestic dogs. While it has long been known that dogs descended from grey wolves, determining when their domestication occurred has been difficult. Early dog skeletons often resembled wolves, and previous studies relied on short DNA sequences or skeletal measurements, making early identification uncertain.

However, in this study, scientists from 17 institutions recovered whole genomes from specimens older than 10,000 years. Comparing them with over 1,000 ancient and modern dogs and wolves confirmed the bones were dogs, pushing back the earliest direct evidence by more than 5,000 years.

Dr William Marsh of the Natural History Museum said: "The genetic identification of two Palaeolithic dogs from Gough's Cave and Pınarbaşı represents a step-change in our understanding of the earliest dogs. These specimens allowed us to identify additional ancient dogs from sites in Germany, Italy and Switzerland, which clearly show that dogs were already widely dispersed across Europe and Turkey by at least 14,000 years ago."

Dr Lachie Scarsbrook of LMU Munich added: "By 15,000 years ago, dogs with very different ancestries already existed across Eurasia, from Somerset to Siberia. This raises the possibility that domestication occurred during the last Ice Age, more than 10,000 years before the appearance of any other domestic plants or animals."

The DNA also shows these early dogs were ancestors of modern European and Middle Eastern breeds, such as boxers and salukis, rather than Arctic breeds like Siberian huskies.

Evidence from dietary isotopes and bone analysis suggests humans fed dogs fish and buried them deliberately, which hints towards close bonds.

Professor Laurent Frantz of LMU Munich said: "The fact that people exchanged dogs so early means these animals must have been important. With limited resources, keeping them implies they served a purpose, and one possibility is that they acted as a highly efficient alarm system."

Artistic reconstruction of Pınarbaşı

Artistic reconstruction of Pınarbaşı around 15,800 years ago based on archaeological excavations (Image: Illustration by Kathryn Killackey)

Professor Ian Barnes of the Natural History Museum added: "Despite humans across Europe and Turkey being culturally and genetically distinct, dogs appear to have been integrated into these societies. It's amazing to think how these very different human groups might have worked with dogs as part of daily hunting and fishing activities."

Simon Parfitt of UCL and the Natural History Museum highlighted the cultural importance of dogs.

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He said: "The first clue that the Gough's Cave bones, dating to around 15,000 years ago, belonged to dogs came from their unusually small size – particularly striking compared with the exceptionally large wolves of the time. DNA now confirms they were ancient domestic dogs, loyal companions to Ice Age hunters. Notably, some bones show deliberate human modification, including perforations in mandibles, suggesting these dogs held symbolic significance after death as well as companionship during life."

Published alongside a related study analysing 216 canid genomes from 14,000 to 1,000 years ago, this research sheds light on the deep human-dog bond, showing that our partnership with dogs began well before agriculture and has roots stretching back to the Ice Age.