New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe

摘要: Abstract Osteoarchaeology and genetics agree that the earliest dog domestications took place during Upper Palaeolithic. However, they partially disagree about process of domestication. The former indicated multiple origins, when some results latter suggested dogs mainly came from a Chinese centre In this study, we describe discuss new evidence for Late Glacial small in South-West (Pont d’Ambon Montespan) North France (Le Closeau). Special attention was paid to possibility miss-identification between early dholes ( Cuon alpinus ), middle-sized Canidae, size which can be similar dogs. Detailed analyses archaeological contexts alongside taphonomy, morphoscopy, morphometry pathology, identified 49 canid remains three sites. They allowed us exclude presence conclude were all Paleolithic These, together with other more sparse discoveries, confirmed Western European Small (WEUPS) from, at least, Middle Magdalenian end Epipaleolithic (i.e. 15,000–11,500 cal BP). As are contemporaneous much larger Russian dogs, plea several Euro-Asian origins Palaeolithic