How did wolves become dogs?

Dogs came from wolves, but not from the wolves alive today. Genetic studies suggest that every ancient and modern dog descends from an ancient, now-extinct population of wolves, one that was distinct from the modern wolf lineage. Scientists once assumed that dogs came from the grey wolf we know now, but a 2014 study concluded that was wrong. The dog was the first species humans domesticated, and it is the only large carnivore to have been domesticated.

How did a predator end up by the fire? The best guess is that the wolves came to us. Wolves were probably drawn to human campfires by the smell of cooked meat and discarded refuse, first hanging around loosely and then treating the camp as part of their territory. The wolves most likely to settle there were the less aggressive and less wary ones, which started a process called self-domestication. Over many generations, those wolves became better candidates for further domestication.

When and where is still argued over. The genetic split between the dog's ancestor and modern wolves happened between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago, but that is only the earliest limit, since domestication came later. The Erralla dog, from 17,500 years ago, is counted as the first undisputed dog, though other disputed remains are older. As for the place, literature reviews favour Eurasia, with Central Asia, East Asia and Western Europe the most plausible proposals, and a 2021 review argued for Siberia. The dog's story starts long before farming: people in the Near East only began living with sheep and goats around 11,400 years ago.