“Rediscovered After Millennia: The Astonishing Secrets of Dogor, Ancient Wolf-Dog Survivor of a Frozen Era”
Modern dogs are believed to be the descendants of domesticated wolves but scientists have yet to determine when that transition from wild animal to domesticated pet occurred in history. However, a 2017 study in the journal Nature Communications did find that our modern pet dogs were likely domesticated from a single population of wolves some 20,000 to 40,000 years ago.
Yakutsk, where Dogor’s mummified body was found, is a city in eastern Siberia. It is said to be the coldest city on Earth, with average temperatures dipping to a ridiculously-low minus 34 degrees Fahrenheit in January.
Centre for Palaeogenetics/TwitterConditions inside the Siberian permafrost enabled the specimen to remain remarkably intact.
The Siberian permafrost — which includes parts of northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland — has been a treasure trove of archaeological finds in the past. Thanks to the deep-freeze conditions underneath, many of these historical treasures include wholly-intact animal corpses dating back to prehistoric times.
In June, researchers revealed a 40,000-year-old whole wolf head from the Pleistocene era found in Siberia. In 2017, the preserved remains of an ancient cave lion cub was discovered around the same place.
These discoveries could mean more than just learning about the ancient animals that used to roam the Earth. Earlier this year, scientists successfully extracted the blood and urine of a perfectly preserved foal corpse dating back to 42,000 years ago. The team is hoping to clone the now-extinct horse species using the bio-materials harvested from the mummified corpse.
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