Next-generation sequencing unravels the relationship of Paleoeskimo and Thule dogs from the North American Arctic

Summary

The peopling of the North American Arctic, occurred in two waves. First the Paleoeskimo people migrated from Siberia roughly 4,000 BP, followed by the Thule people ca. 1000 BP. The Thule people are known for their innovation and rapid colonization of the North American Arctic, compared to small population sizes of the Paleoeskimo. A distinguishing characteristic of Thule culture relative to previous Arctic cultures was increased use of dogs, particularly for dogsled traction. Use of dogs by the Thule is reflected in the archaeological record by a dramatic increase in dog remains in zooarchaeological assemblages. Here, we present results from an Arctic wide survey of over ~500 ancient dog samples and analysis of the temporal and spatial distribution of dog remains and their genetic characteristics. We compare diversity of both whole mitochondrial genomes and the D-loop region in Thule and Paleoeskimo dogs from Siberia, Alaska (interior as well as coastal), Canada, Greenland to assess origins, interchange, and changes through time. We show that, similar to their human companions, domestic dogs colonized the North American Arctic in two waves.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Nose to Tail: An Interdisciplinary Look at Dogs in the Past   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage