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Earlier this year, the American Kennel Club allowed a new breed of dog into its ranks. The Biewer (trounced Beaver) terrier became the 197th breed recognized by the organization. It’s a mere pup of a breed, especially when compared to the oldest breeds of dogs, some of which have existed for thousands of years, or so we’re told.
Now we know what the newest breed of dog is, let’s find out which are the oldest.
For a long time, researchers believed the Basenji was the oldest breed, pointing out some Libyan cave paintings that depict the hunting dog and date back to approximately 6,000 BC. Last year, however, a new genetic study conducted by an international team of researchers indicated that the Greenland Sled Dogs were around long before the Basenji took its first breath.
By studying the 9,500-year-old remains of a dog found on the remote island of Zhokhov off the coast of Siberia, researchers thought they would find a primitive dog but instead, the Greenland Sled dog was already “a long way down the path to domestication.”
So, how does this affect our concept of the oldest dog breeds, and which breed has the Zhokhov dog knocked off its ancient pedestal?
