Science: Dogs came from China

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Researchers used it, in conjunction with the complete genomes of several modern dogs and wolves, to calculate a genetic mutation rate for canines. This rate suggests that the East-West split happened sometime between 6400 and 14,000 years ago. The analysis also revealed a “genetic bottleneck” in Western dogs—a reduction in genetic diversity typically tied to a sharp decline in a population’s numbers, as can occur when a small band of individuals splits off from the main group. (A similar pattern is seen with the original human migration out of Africa.)

Taken together, the data suggest that humans domesticated dogs in Asia more than 14,000 years ago, and that a small subset of these animals eventually migrated west through Eurasia, probably with people. This implies that all modern dogs, as well as the Newgrange canine, can trace their ancestry back to Asia.

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