An 鈥渆xtremely rare鈥� 16,000-year-old canine skeleton from southern France offers evidence that Stone Age humans cared for their pets 鈥� although the animal was also probably killed by humans.
鈥淚t is feasible that the individual obtained [its] injuries from being beaten or struck by people,鈥� says at the University of Western Australia, who was not involved in the analysis of the skeleton.
The specimen was discovered in a French cave called Baume Traucade in 2021 by a group of spelunkers.
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鈥淚t was an adult female with an estimated body mass of 26 kilograms and a shoulder height of 62 centimetres,鈥� says at the Institute of Natural Sciences in Belgium, who led the analysis.
Radiocarbon dating suggests the canine is between 16,000 and 15,300 years old. Unusually for such an ancient canine, the skeleton was nearly complete.
鈥淭hanks to its complete preservation, we were able to compare various skeletal elements with those of fossil and modern wolves and dogs,鈥� says Germonpr茅. This suggested that the animal belonged to a group known as the Palaeolithic dogs, which are thought to represent an early stage in the domestication process 鈥� although it鈥檚 unclear if they were directly related to today鈥檚 dogs.
Canine domestication began over 26,000 years ago 鈥� perhaps, says Koungoulos, because humans and wolves were pressed into increasingly overlapping habitats during the last glacial maximum. 鈥淧alaeolithic humans began to collect wolf pups from dens and raise them at home as 鈥榩ets鈥� in a tamed state,鈥� he says.
The newly discovered canine seems to fit with that picture. Germonpr茅 and her team found evidence that the animal had several broken vertebrae that had healed, indicating the animal may have been cared for by humans.
But there were also two puncture wounds on one of the canine鈥檚 shoulder blades that had not healed, indicating the wounds occurred shortly before death.
鈥淧unctures to the scapula have been observed in hoofed animals hunted during the Mesolithic to early historic times, suggesting that people aimed their projectiles 鈥� spears and arrows 鈥� at this part of the body,鈥� says Koungoulos.
In future work, the team would like to better assess the canine鈥檚 relationship to humans in the area and study its genome to discover whether it is related to modern dogs.
Quaternary Science Reviews
Embark on a captivating journey through time as you explore key Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic sites of southern France, from Bordeaux to Montpellier, with 快猫短视频鈥檚 Kate Douglas. 
Neanderthals, ancient humans and cave art: France
