The first dogs in the United States came from Siberia and disappeared by colonization

Up to now, it was believed that the first dogs on American soil had been domesticated wolves, but a genomic analysis published in "Science" suggests a new theory.

The first dogs that lived The United States came of the vast region of Siberia (Russia) about 9000 years ago and disappeared due to European colonization, as a result of cultural changes and diseases, according to a study published today in the newspaper specialized Science.

Until now, it was believed that the first dogs on American soil had been domesticated wolves, but this complete genomic analysis of the nuclear DNA of dogs suggests a new theory.

Comparing the genomic signatures of 71 mitochondrial genomes and seven nuclear genomics of dogs from North America and Siberia researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the # 39, University of Illinois (USA) determined that the first dogs arrived from this Russian area

. ] The remains of the oldest dog that was found in the current American soil date from about 9,000 years ago, thousands of years after people started migrating across a land bridge that connected the Siberia and Alaska.

The dogs analyzed in the new study "Probably" were born in Siberia and scattered throughout the United States, migrating with humans.

These dogs lived for thousands of years in American territory, but "almost completely disappeared after European contact", at the end of the fifteenth century and at the beginning of the sixteenth century, researchers found [19659006] "This suggests that something catastrophic happened, and it is likely that it is associated with European colonization," said the main author of the event. study, Lawrence Frantz, professor at Queen Mary University in London.

Scientists have also discovered that "few" modern dogs have a type of trace of these ancient lineages according to Kelsey Witt, from the North American part of the survey.

The team also discovered that the genomic signature of a transmissible cancer affecting dogs appears to be the 39, one of the last "living" remains of the genetic heritage of dogs that populated the United States before European contact.

These new findings reinforce the idea that the first humans and the inhabitants of American dogs faced "many of the same challenges after European contact."

"We know how the indigenous peoples of America suffered the genocidal practices of European settlers." What we have found is that the dogs of these peoples have had an even more devastating history and almost total loss, perhaps as a result of forced cultural changes and diseases, "they concluded. [EFE19659006]