Dogs were widely distributed across Western Eurasia during the Palaeolithic

Archaeological evidence suggests that dogs diverged from wolves during the Palaeolithic, over 15,000 years ago. The earliest unequivocal genetic evidence, however, is associated with dog remains from Mesolithic archaeological contexts (~10,900 years ago). We generated both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes from canid remains at Pinarbasi in Türkiye (~15,800 years ago) and Gough's Cave in the British Isles (~14,300 years ago), as well as from dogs excavated from two Mesolithic sites in Serbia (Padina 11,500-7,900 years ago, and Vlasac ~8,900 years ago). Our analyses indicate that a genetically homogeneous dog population was already widely distributed across Europe and Anatolia during the Late Upper Palaeolithic (by at-least 14,300 years ago). This finding suggests that dogs were exchanged amongst genetically and culturally distinct Western Eurasian Late Palaeolithic human populations, namely the Magdalenian, Epigravettian, and Anatolian Hunter-Gatherers. Lastly, we identify a major influx of Eastern Eurasian dog ancestry during the Mesolithic, concomitant with the movement of Eastern Hunter-Gatherer populations into Europe. This event led to the establishment of the primary ancestry characteristics that define European dog populations today.