New evidence shows dogs lived with humans 15,000 years ago

A tiny jawbone discovered in Gough’s Cave in Somerset, England, is reshaping what we know about dogs and humans, suggesting they were already living closely together 15,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than believed.

That’s the view of Professor Sandra Swart, Chair of the Department of History at Stellenbosch University, who says the find opens a new window into the origins of the human-dog relationship.

‘A Rosetta stone’ for dog history

Swart describes the jawbone as a breakthrough piece of evidence.

“It’s a fascinating story. The jawbone itself is a kind of Rosetta stone,” she said.

While small and long overlooked, the fossil has allowed scientists to use DNA analysis to identify other remains previously thought to be wolves, revealing they were in fact dogs.

That pushes the timeline of dog-human interaction back by at least 5,000 years, and possibly closer to 16,000 years in places like Turkey.

Dogs may have domesticated themselves

The discovery does not point to a sudden moment of domestication.

Instead, Swart says the shift from wolf to dog was gradual.

“There isn’t a sharp dividing line between the Grey Wolf and the first domestic dogs,” she explained.

Early wolves likely followed mobile human groups during the Ice Age, feeding on leftover food.

Over time, the less fearful and more sociable animals stayed closer to people.

“The ones who were very dangerous were killed by people, and also didn’t want to associate with people,” Swart said.

This process of ‘self-domestication’ led to animals that were more tolerant, more social, and increasingly dog-like in appearance and behaviour.

Evidence of close living and emotional bonds

Researchers have also found signs that these early dogs shared the same diet as humans.

Analysis of bone collagen and amino acids shows that dogs were eating similar foods, including fish in some regions.

“They were obviously following the same omnivorous diet as the humans they were living with,” Swart said.

Burial evidence strengthens the case for a close bond.

Dogs found buried alongside humans suggest more than proximity, pointing to emotional connections between species.

Why did dogs come first?

Dogs were likely the first animals to be domesticated.

Swart says this is linked to human lifestyles at the time.

Mobile groups could not easily contain animals like livestock, making later domestication of species such as cattle and sheep dependent on settled living.

Cats, by contrast, arrived much later, likely drawn to human settlements by rodents feeding on stored crops.

For more information, listen to Swart on CapeTalk’s Afternoons with John Maytham using the audio player below: