Our relationship with wolves, dogs, and even coyotes has always been complex. Around 8,000 to 12,000 years ago, early inhabitants of Alaska repeatedly attempted to domesticate dogs, but with mixed results.
The dogs we live with today are descendants of wolves that roamed Siberia approximately 23,000 years ago.
However, for thousands of years after this split, the line between wolves and dogs was blurry. Recent studies suggest that even after dogs spread across Eurasia and the Americas, the people of what is now Alaska coexisted with dogs, wolves, hybrids, and even some coyotes, feeding and living alongside them.
The Irresistible Urge to Feed Wild Animals
François Lanoë, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, and his team analyzed 111 sets of dog and wolf bones from archaeological sites in Alaska. These remains span a vast timeline, including ancient wolves that predate human settlement in Alaska, modern wild Alaskan wolves, and specimens from 1,000 to 14,000 years ago. These include wolves, dogs, and even a few coyotes. Their findings reveal that wolves, too, were deeply intertwined with human life.
“The Late Glacial period in Alaska’s interior may have been a testing ground for human-canine relationships,” Lanoë and his team wrote. “Some canines may have been domesticated but failed to establish a lineage leading to modern dogs. Alternatively, some wild canines might have been kept as pets, while others were hunted.”
The researchers compared the DNA of these animals with modern dogs and wolves, as well as older Siberian wolf populations. Additionally, they examined nitrogen isotope levels in the bones and teeth to determine dietary habits. Since wolves typically don’t hunt fish, the presence of fish in their diet likely indicates human feeding or scavenging from human settlements. The data reveals a complex narrative intertwined with human influence.
From Hunters to Being Fed
Around 13,600 years ago, wolves in what is now Alaska primarily hunted rabbits, moose, and other terrestrial prey. However, nitrogen isotope changes in ancient wolf bones from this period indicate a dietary shift. While some wolves continued hunting, others relied almost entirely on fish, suggesting they were being fed by or scavenging from humans.
Experiments 8,000 Years Ago
At Hollembaek Hill, archaeologists discovered remains of four canines dating back 8,100 years. Nitrogen isotopes in their bones indicate a diet primarily of salmon, suggesting they were domesticated. Yet their DNA tells a different story: these animals were more closely related to modern wolves than dogs.
Some of these animals resembled wolves in size, while others were smaller, resembling early domesticated dogs. Their DNA also revealed partial dog ancestry, but they were unrelated to modern dogs. Lanoë’s team speculates that Hollembaek Hill residents may have kept “pet wolves” and wolf-dog hybrids.
The Sole Survivor of Many Attempts at Domestication
All modern dogs trace their lineage to a group of wolves in Siberia from around 23,000 years ago, which are now extinct. However, evidence from about 11,300 to 12,800 years ago at Hollembaek Hill and another Alaskan site, Swan Point, shows canines with dog-like DNA unrelated to modern dogs. This suggests that dog domestication occurred multiple times in different regions, creating several "dog family trees." Ultimately, only one lineage survived.
In essence, after humans “invented” dogs, the process seemed to repeat itself: friendly, non-aggressive wild canines were allowed near villages, where they were likely adopted and fed.
