Discovering a puppy encased in ice may have revealed the ‘oldest confirmed dog’ on record. Researchers shared photos of the remarkably preserved dog after it was found in Siberian permafrost last year.
Following the discovery, experts couldn’t ascertain whether it belonged to the wolf or dog family due to its origin from the time when dogs were domesticated.
Researchers Dave Stanton and Love Dalen speculate that this could potentially be the ‘oldest confirmed dog’ ever, shedding light on the history of canine domestication.
The researchers aptly named this astonishingly well-preserved find ‘Dogor,’ a play on the words ‘dog’ and ‘wolf’.
Professor Dalen remarked:
“Even before cleaning it up, the preservation of this specimen is impressive; it had a complete set of teeth. Initially, we were uncertain about its age. While items frozen in permafrost can be relatively young, barely centuries or even decades old, it turned out to be an astonishing 18,000 years old following radiocarbon dating.”
The findings are of tremendous significance as they shed light on the genetic characteristics of both wolves and dogs during the intriguing timeframe of 18,000 years ago.
Attempting to classify it as either
