Two new studies in Science strengthen evidence for a deep human-dog partnership: genomic analysis of 17 newly sequenced ancient dogs (plus dozens of other ancient and modern genomes) shows dogs tracked human migrations nearly 10,000 years ago. A separate morphological study measured over 640 skulls, finding an ~11,000-year-old Russian cranium with domestic features and revealing diverse dog-like forms associated with people long before modern breed formation.
How Dogs Became Our Companions: New Genetic and Skull Evidence Traces a 10,000-Year Partnership
Two new studies in Science strengthen evidence for a deep human-dog partnership: genomic analysis of 17 newly sequenced ancient dogs (plus dozens of other ancient and modern genomes) shows dogs tracked human migrations nearly 10,000 years ago. A separate morphological study measured over 640 skulls, finding an ~11,000-year-old Russian cranium with domestic features and revealing diverse dog-like forms associated with people long before modern breed formation.
08:06 AM, 11/14/2025Science
How Dogs Became Our Companions
Humans may have gotten few things decisively right, but domesticating the dog is certainly near the top of the list. Two new studies published in Science shed fresh light on how wolves first became dogs and how those early partnerships evolved as humans migrated, traded and settled across Eurasia.
Genes on the Move: Dogs Traveled with Humans
One team sequenced genomes from 17 newly analyzed ancient dogs (some older than 9,500 years) and compared them with 57 previously published ancient dog genomes, 160 modern dog genomes and 18 ancient human genomes. The combined genetic evidence indicates that dogs accompanied human movements along trade and migration routes as far back as nearly 10,000 years ago.
These data imply that dogs of multiple lifestyles—hunter-gatherers’, farmers’ and pastoralists’ companions—traveled across the Eurasian Steppe, East Asia and eastern Siberia. The authors even propose that particular lineages, especially Arctic-associated dogs, may have been exchanged between distant human groups, showing a deeper and earlier human-canine connection than earlier models suggested.
Skull Shapes Tell a Parallel Story
A second study took a morphological approach, measuring more than 640 canine skulls, including specimens dated up to 50,000 years old. Among the findings was a nearly 11,000-year-old cranium from a Mesolithic Russian site whose features align with domestication rather than a purely wild profile.
Crucially, the skull analysis shows that early canines associated with people were not uniform. Instead, multiple dog-like morphologies coexisted alongside humans, implying that people were selecting for particular traits many millennia before the 19th-century, breed-focused explosion that created today’s formal breed lists.
What This Means Today
Taken together, the genetic and skeletal evidence supports a long, complex association between humans and dogs—one in which dogs not only accompanied migrations but were also shaped by human preferences and movements. The studies help explain the deep roots of canine diversity and suggest selection by humans began far earlier than once believed.
Modern breed counts remain debated: the American Kennel Club recognizes about 200 official breeds while noting there are more than 340 worldwide, and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale officially recognizes roughly 360 breeds. Those totals exclude more recent designer mixes, like Newfypoos and Saint Danes, which further expand dog diversity.
“Despite their long and diverse interaction with humans, dogs remain one of the most enigmatic and fascinating domestic species,” the skull-study authors write, “not only as humanity’s first domesticate but also as its most enduring companion.”
As researchers continue to untangle the human-dog story, our canine companions remain by our side—still revealing new chapters of a relationship that stretches back thousands of years.
Lead image credit: ekaterinvor / Pixabay. This story was originally featured on Nautilus.