Saudi: Archaeologists uncover earliest evidence of domestic dog
A team of archaeologists in north-west Saudi Arabia has uncovered the earliest evidence of dog domestication by the region’s ancient inhabitants.
Twenty-six fragments of a dog’s bones were found at a burial site in the basalt volcanic uplands of AlUla in north-west Saudi Arabia, along with bones from 11 humans. Dated at circa 4200 to 4000 BCE, this is the earliest known domesticated dog in Arabia.
The dog’s bones showed signs of arthritis, which suggested the animal lived with the humans into its middle or old age. This is the earliest evidence of a domesticated dog in Arabia by a margin of circa 1,000 years.
The discovery came from one of the projects in the large-scale archaeological surveys and excavations of the region commissioned by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).
