The evolution of dog diet and foraging: Insights from archaeological canids in Siberia

Robert J Losey^{1

2}, Tatiana Nomokonova², Eric Guiry^{3

4}, Lacey S Fleming⁵, Sandra J Garvie-Lok¹, Andrea L Waters-Rist⁶, Megan Bieraugle¹, Paul Szpak⁴, Olga P Bachura⁷, Vladimir I Bazaliiskii⁸, Natalia E Berdnikova⁹, Natal'ia G Diatchina¹⁰, Iaroslav V Frolov¹¹, Vadim V Gorbunov¹², Olga I Goriunova⁹, Sergei P Grushin¹², Andrei V Gusev¹³, Larisa G Iaroslavtseva¹⁴, Grigorii L Ivanov¹⁵, Artur V Kharinskii^{16

17}, Mikhail V Konstantinov¹⁰, Pavel A Kosintsev⁷, Evgenii V Kovychev^{10

18}, Boris Lazin¹⁹, Iurii G Nikitin²⁰, Dmitri V Papin^{21

22}, Alexandr N Popov¹⁹, Mikhail V Sablin²³, Nikolai A Savel'ev⁸, Arkady B Savinetsky²⁴, Alexey A Tishkin¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Tory Building 13-15 HM, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H4, Canada.
² Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, 55 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B1, Canada.
³ School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Anthropology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada.
⁵ Tennessee Division of Archaeology, 216 Foster Avenue, Cole Building 3, Nashville, TN 37243, USA.
⁶ Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St. N., London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada.
⁷ Palaeoecology Laboratory, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Science, 8 Marta Street #202, Ekaterinburg 620144, Russian Federation.
⁸ Laboratory of Archaeology, Ethnology, Problems of Paleoecology and Human Evolution of the Faculty of History, Irkutsk State University, 5th Army Street 52, Irkutsk 664025, Russian Federation.
⁹ Scientific Research Center "Baikal Region", Irkutsk State University, K. Marx St. 1, Irkutsk 664003, Russian Federation.
¹⁰ Trans-Baikal State University, Aleksandro-Zavodskaia St. 30, Chita 672039, Russian Federation.
¹¹ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of Altai, Altai State University, Dimitrova St. 66, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation.
¹² Department of Archaeology, Ethnography and Museology, Altai State University, Lenin Prospekt St. 61, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation.
¹³ Scientific Center of Arctic Studies, Respublika St. 20, Salekhard, Iamal-Nenets Autonomous District 629008, Russian Federation.
¹⁴ National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia, Kuibyshev St. 29, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russian Federation.
¹⁵ Irkutsk Museum of Regional Studies, K. Marx St. 13, Irkutsk 664003, Russian Federation.
¹⁶ Laboratory of Archaeology, Paleoecology and the Subsistence Strategies of the Peoples of Northern Asia, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Lermontov St. 83, Irkutsk 664074, Russian Federation.
¹⁷ Faculty of History, Irkutsk State University, K. Marx St. 1, Irkutsk 664003, Russian Federation.
¹⁸ Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Science, Sakhiyanovoi St. 6, Ulan-Ude 670047, Russian Federation.
¹⁹ Science Museum, Far East Federal University, Okeanskii Prospect 37, Vladivostok 690091, Russian Federation.
²⁰ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnographies, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Pushkinskaia St. 89, Vladivostok 690091, Russian Federation.
²¹ Barnaul Laboratory of Archaeology and Ethnography of South Siberia, Altai State University, Dmitrova St. 66, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation.
²² Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 17, Acad. Lavretiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russian Federation.
²³ Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, Universitetskaia nab. 1, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russian Federation.
²⁴ A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Science, Leninskii prospect 33, Moscow 119071, Russian Federation.

PMID: 35867782
PMCID: PMC11587915
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo6493

The evolution of dog diet and foraging: Insights from archaeological canids in Siberia

Robert J Losey et al. Sci Adv. 2022.

. 2022 Jul 22;8(29):eabo6493.

doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abo6493. Epub 2022 Jul 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Tory Building 13-15 HM, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H4, Canada.
² Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, 55 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B1, Canada.
³ School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Anthropology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada.
⁵ Tennessee Division of Archaeology, 216 Foster Avenue, Cole Building 3, Nashville, TN 37243, USA.
⁶ Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St. N., London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada.
⁷ Palaeoecology Laboratory, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Science, 8 Marta Street #202, Ekaterinburg 620144, Russian Federation.
⁸ Laboratory of Archaeology, Ethnology, Problems of Paleoecology and Human Evolution of the Faculty of History, Irkutsk State University, 5th Army Street 52, Irkutsk 664025, Russian Federation.
⁹ Scientific Research Center "Baikal Region", Irkutsk State University, K. Marx St. 1, Irkutsk 664003, Russian Federation.
¹⁰ Trans-Baikal State University, Aleksandro-Zavodskaia St. 30, Chita 672039, Russian Federation.
¹¹ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of Altai, Altai State University, Dimitrova St. 66, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation.
¹² Department of Archaeology, Ethnography and Museology, Altai State University, Lenin Prospekt St. 61, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation.
¹³ Scientific Center of Arctic Studies, Respublika St. 20, Salekhard, Iamal-Nenets Autonomous District 629008, Russian Federation.
¹⁴ National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia, Kuibyshev St. 29, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russian Federation.
¹⁵ Irkutsk Museum of Regional Studies, K. Marx St. 13, Irkutsk 664003, Russian Federation.
¹⁶ Laboratory of Archaeology, Paleoecology and the Subsistence Strategies of the Peoples of Northern Asia, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Lermontov St. 83, Irkutsk 664074, Russian Federation.
¹⁷ Faculty of History, Irkutsk State University, K. Marx St. 1, Irkutsk 664003, Russian Federation.
¹⁸ Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Science, Sakhiyanovoi St. 6, Ulan-Ude 670047, Russian Federation.
¹⁹ Science Museum, Far East Federal University, Okeanskii Prospect 37, Vladivostok 690091, Russian Federation.
²⁰ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnographies, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Pushkinskaia St. 89, Vladivostok 690091, Russian Federation.
²¹ Barnaul Laboratory of Archaeology and Ethnography of South Siberia, Altai State University, Dmitrova St. 66, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation.
²² Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 17, Acad. Lavretiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russian Federation.
²³ Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, Universitetskaia nab. 1, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russian Federation.
²⁴ A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Science, Leninskii prospect 33, Moscow 119071, Russian Federation.

PMID: 35867782
PMCID: PMC11587915
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo6493

Abstract

Research on the evolution of dog foraging and diet has largely focused on scavenging during their initial domestication and genetic adaptations to starch-rich food environments following the advent of agriculture. The Siberian archaeological record evidences other critical shifts in dog foraging and diet that likely characterize Holocene dogs globally. By the Middle Holocene, body size reconstruction for Siberia dogs indicates that most were far smaller than Pleistocene wolves. This contributed to dogs' tendencies to scavenge, feed on small prey, and reduce social foraging. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of Siberian dogs reveals that their diets were more diverse than those of Pleistocene wolves. This included habitual consumption of marine and freshwater foods by the Middle Holocene and reliance on C₄ foods by the Late Holocene. Feeding on such foods and anthropogenic waste increased dogs' exposure to microbes, affected their gut microbiomes, and shaped long-term dog population history.

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Figures

**Fig. 1.. Map of archaeological sites in Siberia (n = 36) with bone collagen stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope composition data for Holocene dogs and wolves.**
The colored symbols indicate the human subsistence economy types evidenced at the sites. The numbers provided for each site represent the calibrated age for the canid remains in thousands of years before present.

**Fig. 2.. Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope compositions for Eurasian Pleistocene wolves and Siberian Holocene wolves and dogs.**
Stable isotope data, site name and age, and site coordinates are provided in data S1 and S2. (A) Pleistocene wolf stable isotope composition data by region. The Beringian and Siberian dataset (n = 66) includes two putative early dogs. The European dataset (n = 72) contains three putative early dogs. (B) Holocene Siberian dog and wolf stable isotope composition data. The sample includes isotope values for 144 dogs and 8 wolves. The colored symbols indicate the human subsistence economy types evidenced at the sites.

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The evolution of dog diet and foraging: Insights from archaeological canids in Siberia

Affiliations

The evolution of dog diet and foraging: Insights from archaeological canids in Siberia

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Miscellaneous