Old dog, new tricks: Study IDs 9,400-year-old mutt

palmbeachpost ^ | Jan. 19, 2011 | CLARKE CANFIELD

[JoeProBono]

PORTLAND, Maine — Nearly 10,000 years ago, man's best friend provided protection and companionship — and an occasional meal.

That's what researchers are saying after finding a bone fragment from what they are calling the earliest confirmed domesticated dog in the Americas.

University of Maine graduate student Samuel Belknap III came across the fragment while analyzing a dried-out sample of human waste unearthed in southwest Texas in the 1970s. A carbon-dating test put the age of the bone at 9,400 years, and a DNA analysis confirmed it came from a dog — not a wolf, coyote or fox, Belknap said.

Because it was found deep inside a pile of human excrement and was the characteristic orange-brown color that bone turns when it has passed through the digestive tract, the fragment provides the earliest direct evidence that dogs — besides being used for company, security and hunting — were eaten by humans and may even have been bred as a food source, he said

[JoeProBono]

Researcher Samuel Belknap III

[Brad’s Gramma]

So..........Samuel does WHAT for a living???

Oh man. Ick. Gross. Disgusting....

[The Comedian]

New-tricks ping.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[JoeProBono]

[muawiyah]

OK guys, remember this one. That's evidence that 9,500 years ago DOGS were still game animals. They may have hung around the camp, or the village (in Ukraine and Bulgaria), but that was for their own benefit. When it came time for dinner they were the honored guests.

I wonder if this guy has examined the DNA enough to determine if this was a regular old WOOF WOOF dog or one of those SILENT African dogs ~ or maybe even a DINGO ~ they were certainly already in Australia by the time these guys started the really long treks to Baja!

[JoeProBono]

[muawiyah]

Great picture ~ that is a dog ~ see how happy he is. Now, in the next frame the dog is gone but see how happy the people are.

[JoeProBono]

Maybe the Dingo Ate Your Baby

[muawiyah]

I am sure that we’ve gotten even with the dingos many times over.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Am I the ONLY one who must discuss.........poop???

[The Comedian]

Prehistoric Dachshund ping.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[JoeProBono]

[Brad’s Gramma]

LOL!!!!!!!!

[JoeProBono]

[Rebelbase]

From a dog’s point of view it’s only been 1342.8 years.

[mamelukesabre]

So riddle me this...when european discoverers first trampled around north america, for the most part there were no indigenous dogs. And there are certainly none today. Sled dogs in the extreme north, and mexican hairless in central america, and not much to speak of in between.

[JoeProBono]

The Native American Indian Dog is a very rare, almost extinct breed of dog used by the Native Americans for a variety of purposes including, pulling the travois, hunting, babysitting the very young and elderly and guarding the village.

This breed should not be confused with the American Indian Dog which is a coyote/dingo/Australian Kelpie/Border Collie mix.

[mamelukesabre]

I call hoax

[Uriah_lost]

http://www.carolinadogs.org/

[JoeProBono]