Dog tooth found near Stonehenge 'evidence of earliest journey'

[Judi Lynn]

Dog tooth found near Stonehenge 'evidence of earliest journey'

8 hours ago

A tooth unearthed near Stonehenge shows dogs were man's best friend even in prehistoric times, it has been claimed.

The tooth, dug up at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, is believed to be evidence of the earliest journey in British history.

It is thought to be from a pet Alsatian-type dog that travelled 250 miles from York with its owner.

Archaeologist David Jacques said it was significant as it was not known people travelled so far 7,000 years ago.

More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-37574881

[Galileo126]

1. Stonehenge continues to amaze me

There is soooo much history there, in that place.

See "Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project", put forth by the Smithsonian. Holy moley! Amazing what lidar can reveal. Followed up by traditional archeo digging.

Never ceases to amaze me... Damn. "It's an island!"

ps: Dogs rule....

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I don't get it. How do they know the dog was friendly?

[Brother Buzz]

3. Who says the dog was friendly?

It might have been a mean-assed dog that just encountered a meaner-assed man.

Isotope tests indicate the dog was raise in York, and made its final journey to Blick Mead, over 250 miles away.

One might assume it was domesticated, or partly domesticated, and useful for hunting, but you know what they say about assuming.

I heard the dog spoke German with a French accent.

[Warpy]

4. One British archaeologist went so far as to buy a farm

and stock it with rare breeds of sheep that were closer to what people had a few thousand years ago. He came up with two conclusions: first, it was impossible to work with sheep without a dog; and second, people who said the old breeds couldn't be worked with a dog were talking through their hats. Likely herding animals were first hunted with dogs and just naturally came to be herded by dogs.

I think cats and dogs have been with us much longer than anyone really suspects. Cats were drawn to us because we were messy eaters who attracted their prey and dogs just accepted us as members of their pack.