Where Did the Domesticated Dog Come From?
Recent research by the University of Chicago suggests that the ancestry of dogs is rather more complex than previously imagined. The genetic evidence suggests that dogs and wolves evolved separately from a common ancestor between 11,000 and 34,000 years ago. Modern breeds of dog (regardless of geographic origin) are much more closely related to each other than to wolves and the genetic overlap observed between some modern dogs and wolves is largely the result of interbreeding after dog domestication – rather than indicative of a direct line of descent from wolves. The popular story of early farmers taming and adopting a few docile, friendly wolves that later became our modern canine companions appears to be incorrect. Instead, the earliest dogs may have already split from the wolf branch of the tree and lived among hunter-gatherer societies before ultimately adapting to agricultural life and bonding with humans.
[ref: Genome Sequencing Highlights the Dynamic Early History of Dogs – Freedman et al. January 2014 – PLOS Genetics]
Native American Folklore Concerning the Origins of Dogs
There’s a collection of “Native American Dog Mythology” information here:
The website includes links to information about:
How Dogs Came To The Indians (Ojibway legend about the origin of dogs.)
Why Wolves and Dogs Fear Each Other and A Dog Tale (Lenape and Menominee legends about Dog defecting from the Wolf people to the humans.)
A Little Boy Who Brought Good Luck (Passamaquoddy Indian story about a magical dog that rewarded a pair of kind foster parents.)
Glooscap and Winpe and Gluskabe and the Monster Moose (Stories about the Wabanaki culture hero Glooskap was usually said to have either one or two faithful dogs.)
Iyash and the Dog (Severn Ojibwe legend about a hero tricking a cannibal's dog.)
The Legend of Nanabozho and the Dogs and Why Dogs Sniff Each Other (Funny Algonquian folktales about the tails of dogs.)
They That Chase After The Bear and Chasing the Bear (Fox Indian legend about three hunters and their dog that became stars.)
The Hunting of the Great Bear (Iroquois legend about four hunters, a dog, and a bear who turned into stars.)
The Stubborn Girl (Lenape legend about a young girl punished for pestering a dog.)
Lenape Dog Story (Lenape Indian legend about a magical dog.)
The Foolish Dogs (Narragansett story of how dogs lost their voices.)
The Deserted Children (Gros Ventre legend about a dog who rescued two abandoned children.)
How the Indians Obtained Dogs (Cree story about a friendly wolf pack that became the first dogs.)
The Girl Who Married A Dog (Cheyenne legend about a woman who became the mother of the Pleiades.)
Legend of the Crazy Dog Society (Blackfoot myth about magical Little People who teach powerful war medicine to a brave boy.)
The Search for Fire and Flint-Man, Fire and Loon-Woman (Pit River legends about how Dog stole fire from Fire-Woman.)
Why Dogs Have Long Tongues (Caddo legend about how dogs were punished for tattling.)
Recent research by the University of Chicago suggests that the ancestry of dogs is rather more complex than previously imagined. The genetic evidence suggests that dogs and wolves evolved separately from a common ancestor between 11,000 and 34,000 years ago. Modern breeds of dog (regardless of geographic origin) are much more closely related to each other than to wolves and the genetic overlap observed between some modern dogs and wolves is largely the result of interbreeding after dog domestication – rather than indicative of a direct line of descent from wolves. The popular story of early farmers taming and adopting a few docile, friendly wolves that later became our modern canine companions appears to be incorrect. Instead, the earliest dogs may have already split from the wolf branch of the tree and lived among hunter-gatherer societies before ultimately adapting to agricultural life and bonding with humans.
[ref: Genome Sequencing Highlights the Dynamic Early History of Dogs – Freedman et al. January 2014 – PLOS Genetics]
Native American Folklore Concerning the Origins of Dogs
There’s a collection of “Native American Dog Mythology” information here:
The website includes links to information about:
How Dogs Came To The Indians (Ojibway legend about the origin of dogs.)
Why Wolves and Dogs Fear Each Other and A Dog Tale (Lenape and Menominee legends about Dog defecting from the Wolf people to the humans.)
A Little Boy Who Brought Good Luck (Passamaquoddy Indian story about a magical dog that rewarded a pair of kind foster parents.)
Glooscap and Winpe and Gluskabe and the Monster Moose (Stories about the Wabanaki culture hero Glooskap was usually said to have either one or two faithful dogs.)
Iyash and the Dog (Severn Ojibwe legend about a hero tricking a cannibal's dog.)
The Legend of Nanabozho and the Dogs and Why Dogs Sniff Each Other (Funny Algonquian folktales about the tails of dogs.)
They That Chase After The Bear and Chasing the Bear (Fox Indian legend about three hunters and their dog that became stars.)
The Hunting of the Great Bear (Iroquois legend about four hunters, a dog, and a bear who turned into stars.)
The Stubborn Girl (Lenape legend about a young girl punished for pestering a dog.)
Lenape Dog Story (Lenape Indian legend about a magical dog.)
The Foolish Dogs (Narragansett story of how dogs lost their voices.)
The Deserted Children (Gros Ventre legend about a dog who rescued two abandoned children.)
How the Indians Obtained Dogs (Cree story about a friendly wolf pack that became the first dogs.)
The Girl Who Married A Dog (Cheyenne legend about a woman who became the mother of the Pleiades.)
Legend of the Crazy Dog Society (Blackfoot myth about magical Little People who teach powerful war medicine to a brave boy.)
The Search for Fire and Flint-Man, Fire and Loon-Woman (Pit River legends about how Dog stole fire from Fire-Woman.)
Why Dogs Have Long Tongues (Caddo legend about how dogs were punished for tattling.)
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