Dietary reconstructions of Magdalenian canids from SW-Germany do not indicate that the area was a centre of early European wolf domestication

Abstract

In their paper 'A refined proposal for the origin of dogs: the case study of Gnirshoehle, a Magdalenian cave site', Baumann and colleagues claim that their data 'support the hypothesis that the Hegau Jura was a potential center of early European wolf domestication', and that 'such a scenario becomes plausible considering a close proximity of canids and humans thereby introducing a controlled, or at least a restrictive diet'. The study focusses on fossil remains of 'large canids' from the Gnirshoehle cave site in SW Germany. Morphometric data on only one specimen, GN-999, as well as collagen delta15N and delta13C isotopic data and mitochondrial DNA analyses on the Gnirshoehle specimens and a comparative sample were used to conclude that the Gnirshoehle specimens shed light on the 'origin of dogs' as purported by the title of the paper. Here we argue that the paper is fundamentally flawed and excluded available relevant data.