The Liguria region in northern Italy has revealed the oldest evidence yet identified of the relationship between humans and dogs. Fossilized footprints found in the Gruta da Bàsura, in Toirano, show the passage of a large dog and a group of men, women, and children from the Paleolithic period. Dating indicates 14,4 years.
The study, published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews by researchers from Sapienza University of Rome, analyzed 25 canid footprints using photogrammetry and advanced morphometry. The tracks were compared with nearly a thousand footprints of domestic dogs and modern wolves.
According to Marco Romano, professor of paleontology and coordinator of the research, the footprints belong to a single adult dog, weighing about 40 kilograms and almost 70 centimeters tall. It closely followed the human group that was exploring the depths of the cave. For Romano, the overlap between human and canine marks proves the contemporaneity of the records and indicates a close relationship between the two.
Romano stated that, for the first time, it was possible to identify a specific moment of direct interaction recorded in the ground. The sequences show intersecting passages. In some sections, the dog steps over human footprints, and in others the opposite occurs. The study highlights that this exchange recorded in different areas of the cave demonstrates the animal's active participation in the exploration.
Until now, the oldest record involving dogs in a human context was from Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, where a burial dated to 14,2 years ago had been identified. However, the Bàsura Cave presents the first direct evidence of coexistence and interaction between humans and dogs in the Paleolithic period.
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