Dog Meat a 14,000 year-old Chinese Tradition?

Here’s one bound to ruffle a few feathers. The New York Times reports geneticists Peter Savolainen of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has concluded dogs, or wolves to be more specific, were first domesticated in southern China – probably for their meat.

According to the report by Savolainen and his team, DNA samples from dogs taken around the globe suggest a single lineage, which in turn implies they were first domesticated in one location. Since a species’ highest rate of genetic diversity is generally at its point of origin, researchers concluded wolves were first domesticated in southern China between 11,000 and 14,000 years ago.

The article continues; “There is a long tradition of eating dogs in southern China, where dog bones with cut marks on them have been found at archaeological sites … Given local traditions, Dr. Savolainen suggests, the wolves may have been bred for the table.”

Of course the “domesticating for meat” theory is just supposition, and researchers at Cornell University in the U.S. have argued genetic diversity amongst dogs is just as high in African villages.

But then how do the Cornell researchers explain this Chinese magazine I noticed on the stands recently? It masquerades as an excuse for photographing cute Chinese girls next to their fluffy friends, but check out the magazine’s English title… Am I the only one who thinks that dog on the cover looks a little nervous?