EARLY DOMESTICATED DOGS OF THE NEAR-EAST

Domestic dogs in the Near East have been identified on the basis of cultural criteria, but identifications based on morphological criteria are controversial. Measurements of carnassial teeth and of the facial region of the cranium and mandible reveal that wolf/dog remains from the Natufian (c. 12,000 BP) and later cultures of Israel exhibit a morphological pattern that is the opposite of that expected under natural selection, but that conforms well to that expected in early domestication. The Geometric Kebaran wolves preceding the Natufian domesticates are very large individuals, probably in response to the climatic conditions of the period, and this may indicate one of the following: (a) the wolves domesticated in Israel were of a large race, contrary to previous theories on the roots of dog domestication; (b) the dog was domesticated at a period earlier than the Natufian.