Scientists have discovered that bones from dogs that lived between 14,000 and 16,000 years ago, indicating that humans were already domesticated dogs. The bones, found in sites in the UK and Turkey, represent the oldest dog genomes to date and push back the earliest direct existence of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) by more than 5,000. They found that the genomes of the ancient specimens were closely related genetically, despite being separated by roughly 1,800 miles. This suggests that dogs may have been integrated into and passed on between diverse hunter-gatherer communities. The discovery also revealed that dogs were culturally significant to humans during their lifetime, with evidence of close association between humans and dogs.