Peru’s Hairless Dogs Left Clues About Food, Care, and Burial
Wari Empire
An ancient state in the Andes region.
isotope analysis
A way to use chemical clues in bones and teeth.
radiocarbon dating
A method for estimating the age of old remains.
What happened
Archaeologists studied dog remains from Castillo de Huarmey in northern Peru. The site was an administrative and burial center for the Wari Empire, an ancient Andean state. A study from Dartmouth College, a U.S. university, examined 341 dog-bone specimens. They represented at least 19 individual dogs. The finds also included an almost complete, naturally mummified male dog. Radiocarbon dating showed that male lived at least 1,200 years ago. It is the oldest radiocarbon-dated dog found at the site.
Background and identification
The dry coastal desert helped preserve skin, ears, bones, and pigments. One skull still held hairless skin and attached ears. It had been colored with cinnabar, a bright red pigment. The dogs also lacked some teeth that normally would have erupted. Researchers linked this pattern to the same genetic trait that causes hairlessness. That connection helped identify the remains as Peruvian hairless dogs, a distinctive local breed.
What the evidence confirms
The team used isotope analysis, which reads chemical signals in bones and teeth. Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium helped reconstruct food and possible movement. A tooth preserves a signal from puppyhood, while bone reflects roughly the final year. Most dogs had eaten at least some maize, or corn. Hairless puppies showed diets more like local human children. That pattern may point to special care or organized breeding. It could also reflect leftovers or rubbish. The evidence cannot distinguish those possibilities.
Burials also differed. A puppy about 6–8 weeks old lay beside an elite craftsperson called the Master Basketmaker. An adult dog was found in the palace. Part of a puppy was buried with a man identified as XY, probably sacrificed as a tomb guardian. Other dog bones lay among discarded material. Few showed butchery marks, so dogs were probably not commonly eaten.
Why it matters
This is the first physical evidence of Peruvian hairless dogs at Castillo de Huarmey. Earlier evidence included images on pottery. Now, bones, teeth, food signals, and burial locations can be studied together. They suggest that dogs had different roles and received different treatment within the same society. The discovery also shows why animal history cannot be reduced to a simple pet-or-food choice.
What remains unknown
Archaeology cannot show whether these dogs were pets, working animals, or ritual animals. Researchers also cannot tell whether people deliberately fed the puppies maize. The dogs may have eaten leftovers or waste instead. A 1970 earthquake and later looting disturbed the upper layers. Some animal remains therefore have uncertain original locations.
What comes next
Researchers will compare dogs from better-preserved layers and other sites. They will also test more bones and teeth for diet clues. Those comparisons may show whether the puppies’ food really reflected special care or organized breeding. For now, the evidence supports a complicated relationship between people and dogs more than 1,200 years ago.
Source: ScienceDaily report
What Ancient Hairless Dogs Ate in Peru
📰 Full story: Peru’s Hairless Dogs Left Clues About Food, Care, and Burial
Ancient dog remains show how people may have cared for dogs differently.
Castillo de Huarmey
An ancient burial and building site in northern Peru.
Wari Empire
An ancient society in the Andes.
isotope analysis
A way to find food clues in bones and teeth.
💡 The gist
- Archaeologists found a 1,200-year-old hairless dog in Peru.
- Its hair and missing teeth had a shared biological cause.
- Food and burials show that dogs had different roles.
What was found
Archaeologists study objects left by ancient people. They found dog remains at Castillo de Huarmey in Peru. The site belonged to the Wari Empire, an ancient Andean society. Researchers found 341 dog bones. The bones represented at least 19 dogs. They also found an almost complete male dog. Dating showed it was at least 1,200 years old.
Clues from hair and teeth
One skull still had skin and ears. It was colored with cinnabar, a red mineral. Some dogs had fewer teeth. Some teeth never grew. The same gene can affect hair and teeth. This helped researchers identify Peruvian hairless dogs.
Clues from food
The team used isotope analysis. Isotope analysis looks for chemical clues in bones and teeth. Teeth record puppy food. Bone records food from roughly the final year. Most dogs had eaten maize, or corn. Hairless puppies had diets like local human children. This may mean people fed them carefully. It may also mean they ate leftovers or trash.
Different burials
Burials differed. A six-to-eight-week-old puppy lay beside an elite craftsperson. Another adult dog was found inside a palace. Other bones lay with discarded material. These facts show different treatment. They do not prove every dog was a pet.
An earthquake and looting mixed some upper layers. That makes some locations uncertain. Next, scientists will compare more bones and burial places. They may learn whether special care helped breeding.
A Very Old Dog Without Much Fur
📰 Full story: Peru’s Hairless Dogs Left Clues About Food, Care, and Burial
People found an old hairless dog in Peru.
Peruvian hairless dog
A dog that naturally grows very little fur.
Wari Empire
A group of people who lived in the Andes long ago.
gene
Body information that can affect traits.
A dog from long ago
Long ago, a dog lived in Peru. The dog had very little fur. This kind is called a Peruvian hairless dog. People found it near an old burial place. The Wari Empire used that place long ago. The Wari Empire was a group of people long ago.
Dry ground helped keep the dog’s body. Scientists looked at its bones and teeth. Some dogs had fewer teeth. One gene can affect both hair and teeth. Genes are body information passed from parents.
Scientists also found food clues. Many dogs had eaten corn. Young hairless dogs had food like human children. Maybe people gave them special food. Maybe they ate scraps instead.
Some dogs were buried near people. Other bones were in thrown-away things. So dogs may not all have been pets. Scientists will study more bones next.