The European Conquerors Exterminated The First American Dogs
The genetic material of early American dogs reveals that these animals came from ancestors from Siberia, who arrived on the continent 11,000 years ago.
This study also reveals their sudden disappearance in the 15th century. It seems that the origin of the domestic dog has to be rewritten again and again and that leads us each time to more and more interesting theories.
Did the European conquerors exterminate the first American dogs?
Where did the first American dogs live?
The first dogs of North America were distributed throughout the territory, where they lived for thousands of years in harmony with the Native Americans. This was until the arrival of the European conquerors in the 15th century.
It should be borne in mind that pets are influenced by human history. Just as the settlers suffered the arrival of European invaders, this invasion also affected domestic animals.
On the other hand, their demise could simply be due to changes in local communities’ preference when it came to raising a dog.
What is clear is that there are very few remains of these animals at the moment, and all American breeds are descended from 15th-century European breeds.
The origin of the first dogs of America
The origin of these early American dogs was a mystery. For this reason, a team from the University of Oxford set out to study the genetic material of the archaeological remains and found that ancient American dogs do not appear to be descended from American wolves, but from a common 11,000-year-old Siberian ancestor.
It is a genital cancer present with a certain frequency in dogs, and of which many cases are currently occurring all over the world. This cancer, which spreads like a virus, would be the only trace of the ancestors of these early North American dogs.
This leads many to reconsider the role played by the dog during the first human migrations through the Bering Strait and if it is not due to this animal the process of expansion taking place across the planet. Some believe that there may also be other manifestations of the heritage of these early American dogs, such as hairless dogs.
Do South American dogs have the same origin?
However, many argue that American breeds are even older than these studies claim. For example, there are vestiges of the Aztec civilization of Chihuahua-like dogs, a Mexican breed that could date back to before the European invasion of the American continent.
The Andean breeds or the famous hairless dogs are other breeds that the countries of South America and Central America claim as predating the European invasion. However, breeds like the Labrador appear to have a European origin.
One of the first breeds to reach the American continent during the conquest of America was the Spanish Great Dane, an extremely strong breed that was also used to slaughter bulls during bullfighting events.
