It appears that DNA evidence shows that huskies, malamutes, and sled dogs descended from Siberian wolves. The genomes of modern Greenland sled dogs were compared to a 9,500-year-old sled dog found in Siberia and a 33,000-year-old Siberian wolf. Curiously, the genomes suggest that sled dogs did not descend from any lineage of American wolves.
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The site at Zokhov Island that yielded the 9,500-year-old sled dog genome also includes physical evidence of sleds and harness materials. Bone analysis has led one team of scientists to suggest that the site may represent the earliest-known evidence for dog breeding, with sledding as a goal, and that the process may have started as long as 15,000 years ago.
The sled dogs’ genetic history aligns with archaeological evidence. Together, the findings suggest the dogs have been established for nearly 10,000 years and have spent those many millennia doing the same things they do today.
What were sled dogs doing back then? Evidence shows that they were helping to transport large game, such as polar bears and reindeer, to human communities. Read more about the study of the lineage of modern sled dogs at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Markus Trienke)
Source: neatorama