The Southernmost Pre-Columbian Dogs in the Americas: Phenotype, Chronology, Diet and Genetics

ABSTRACT

The archaeological record shows the presence of medium-sized dogs with mesocephalic skulls in Southeast South America, from at least the end of the third millennium BP to historical times, along 700 km from southern Brazil to the wetlands of the Paraná River in Argentina. These dogs, associated with complex hunter-gatherers, do not appear to have been the product of exchange with Andean societies as previous theories suggested, but rather of a local breeding process, probably reflecting the offspring of a founder population introduced in the area before at least the third millennium BP. Isotopic values show a C₃ omnivorous pattern, resulting from a broad and opportunistic niche, not overlapping with that of humans. The relationships between humans and their dogs were very complex; some of the dogs were buried in mortuary areas, in double human-dog burials, meanwhile others were used as a source of raw material. Shortly after the introduction of European dogs, they were quickly assimilated by these introduced dogs, which is supported by the pairwise distance analysis. Phylogenetic analysis illustrates the maternal lineage of these pre-Columbian and modern dogs, both belonging to the haplogroup A, supporting a common ancestry.

KEYWORDS:

• Pre-Columbian dogs
• DNA
• phenotype
• stable isotopes
• morphometrics

Acknowledgments

To Carina Erchini, Director of the Museo de Antropología de la República (Montevideo, Uruguay), who has facilitated the study of dogs deposited in this institution. We especially want to thank Peter Stahl for his appreciative comments and observations which improve the text. To Raúl Valadez Azúa for the kindness and sending us the photo of the axis of a Mesoamerican dog. Errors that have slipped are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, grants from CONICET – Argentina [grant numbers PIPs 11220110100565 / 11220150100482]; Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay, Centro Universitario Regional del Este (CURE, Uruguay); University of Zurich’s University Research Priority Program ‘Evolution in Action: From Genomes to Ecosystems'; Univesidade da Region da Comuna do Chapecó (Unochapecó) TAC-SEI/IPHAN 0462925, and Prêmio Elisabete Anderle de Estímulo à Cultura.

Notes on contributors

Daniel Loponte

Daniel Loponte (Ph.D) is an archaeologist and researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, at the National Institute of Latin American Anthropology, Buenos Aires. His research focuses on the pre-Columbian archaeology and environmental changes of the lowlands of southeastern South America.

Alejandro Acosta

Alejandro Acosta (Ph.D) is an archaeologist and researcher at National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, at the National Institute of Latin American Anthropology, Buenos Aires. His research focuses in the pre-Columbian archaeology and environmental changes of the South American Southeast Lowlands.

Andrés Gascue

Andrés Gascue is an archaeologist and professor of the Department of Agrarian Systems and Cultural Landscapes of the Eastern Regional University Center (Uruguay). His studies are currently focus on pre-Columbian coastal societies of Uruguay and Argentina, and heritage management.

Saskia Pfrengle

Saskia Pfrengle (M.Sc.) is a researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich and a Ph.D. student at the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at the University of Tuebingen. Her research focuses on investigating ancient DNA to address questions concerning the evolutionary history of large canids and pathogens.

Verena J. Schuenemann

Verena J. Schuenemann (Ph.D.) is Assistant Professor for Paleogenetics at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her ancient DNA research focuses on the evolutionary history of pathogens and their interactions with hosts species.

Noelia Bortolotto

Noelia Bortolotto is a Museologist and senior undergraduate student in Anthropological Sciences with a specialization in Archaeology. She is professor of the Department of Agrarian Systems and Cultural Landscapes of the Eastern Regional University Center (Uruguay) and scholarship holder at the National Institute of Latin American Anthropology, Buenos Aires. Her research is focuses in geoarchaeology in the Lowlands of Uruguay and Argentina, and heritage management.

Mirian Carbonera

Mirian Carbonera (Ph.D) is an archaeologist from the University of Chapecó. Her research focuses on the study of the pre-colonial past of the indigenous populations of the southeast of South America and on the management of cultural resources.

César García Esponda

César García Esponda is a biologist, researcher, and teachingassistant at the University of La Plata, Argentina. His studies mainlyfocus on the functional anatomy of mammals.

Damián Voglino

Damián Voglino is a researcher at the Museum of Natural Sciences A. Scasso, San Nicolás, and coordinator of the Observatory of Archaeological and Paleontological Heritage, Center of Archaeological and Paleontological Heritage (Buenos Aires).

Rafael Milheira

Rafael Milheira is a Professor of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil. Head of the Laboratory of Teaching and Research in Anthropology and Archaeology (LEPAARQ-UFPEL). Researcher of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). His work concerns the Archaeology and long-term indigenous history of Patos and Mirim Lagoon.

Alejandro Ferrari

Alejandro Ferrari is a Museologist. He is responsible for the Department of Museography and the Department of Registration and Documentation of Collections, at the National Museum of Anthropology, Ministry of Education and Culture, Uruguay.

Caroline Borges

Caroline Borges (Ph. D.) is a researcher and Assistant Professor at the Department of History of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. She is a specialist in zooarchaeology of aquatic environments and her research focuses on understanding relations between indigenous people and other animals during pre-colonial times.