Researchers used mtDNA and nuclear DNA analysis to pinpoint the origin of dogs to south East Asia (the northern part of Southeast Asia? It’s confusing.)

They estimate that divergence from wolves happened about 33,000 years ago.

Man’s best friend for a long time: Dogs go back 33,000 years, study finds • 2015 Dec 15 • Deborah Netburn • Los Angeles Times

This doesn’t actually pinpoint when dogs were domesticated, though.

Speaking of domestication, it reminded me of a Radiolab episode I listended to the other day:

New Nice • Radiolab

It only took about 10 years for Dmitri Belyaev to take wild silver foxes and selectively breed them to create an animal that not only acted more dog-like, it actually looked more dog-like, too.

New Breed of Fox as Tame as a Pussycat • 1999 Mar 30 • Malcolm W. Browne • New York Times

(crossposted on Facebook)