Wolves became dogs through a long partnership with hunter-gatherers, the first animal domesticated by people, at some time between about 15,000 and 40,000 years ago in Eurasia. Wolves that tolerated humans at campsites fed on scraps and, in time, helped with hunting and guarding. DNA from ancient remains, including a 14,000-year-old burial of a dog with a man and a woman at Oberkassel, Germany, shows that dogs were valued companions. The exact place and time remain debated, and may involve more than one population.
Before and after
- about 21,000 years agoLast Glacial Maximum
- about 20,000 years agoThe earliest known pottery is made in China
- from about 17,000 years ago to 12,000 years agoMagdalenian
- from about 16,000 years ago to 8th millennium BCEEpipaleolithic
- about 15,100 years agoDogs are domesticated
- from about 15,000 years ago to 1st millennium BCEJōmon period
- from about 14,000 years ago to 9th millennium BCENatufian culture
- about 13,000 years agoThe megafauna of the Americas die out
- from about 13,000 years ago to 9,750s BCEYounger Dryas
More in Evolution & life
- from c. 9,050s BCE to 8,850s BCEClovis culture
- from c. 5,600s BCE to 4,900s BCELinear Pottery culture
- from 55th century BCE to 27th century BCECucuteni–Trypillia culture
- from 55th century BCE to 45th century BCEVinča culture
- from 36th century BCE to 18th century BCECaral–Supe civilization
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 2,600 BCEYamnaya culture
The era
This moment belongs to the Human prehistory (300,000 years ago to 3,200 BCE), the human story before writing.