Scientists from the University of Exeter and the French CNRS studied 643 skulls of modern and ancient dogs, as well as wolves up to 50,000 years old. All 17 skulls from the Pleistocene were classified as wolf. The oldest domesticated dog specimen was found at the Russian site of Veret’ye and dates back to approximately 11,000 years ago. “The reduction in skull size in dogs is first recorded between 9700–8700 years ago, and the increase in size variability begins from 7700 years ago,” explained one of the study’s authors, Dr. Allouen Evin.
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