A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.

Das Forschungsprojekt Qimmeq über den grönländischen Schlittenhund unterstützt eine frühere Ankunft der Inuit in Grönland

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.

How 1,000 Years of Arctic Sled Dogs Reveal the Secrets of Human Migration, Survival, and Coexistence

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.

A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

The Qimmeq (Greenland sled dog) has worked continuously with the Inuit in Greenland for more than 800 years. However, they now face drastic population declines caused by climate change, urbanization, ...

While all dogs have a reputation for being man’s best friend, only one breed can claim the title of best—and oldest—co-worker. Today’s Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes are frequently bred as companion animals, but sled dogs in the Arctic, in particular the large, thick-furred Qimmeq (plural Qimmit) from Greenland, have worked alongside humans for a millennium. To understand more about the history of this ancient, iconic breed, scientists sequenced ancient and modern genomes from dozens of sled dogs spanning the past 800 years. Older samples came from museum specimens of bone, skin, and fur, while modern DNA was taken directly from the mouths of Qimmit living and working all over Greenland using cheek and saliva swabs. The team compared the sequences with more than 1900 published dog genomes, as well as wild canids. The results of that analysis, researchers report in Science, revealed that Greenland sled dogs have remained remarkably unchanged over the course of their long history—a history that is intimately intertwined with that of the island’s Indigenous peoples. The study authors discovered that Qimmit form a distinct clade with other Arctic sled dogs and are closely related to a 3700-year-old dog found in Alaska, suggesting that the Inuit migrated rapidly from Alaska to Greenland, potentially within a few generations. Based on the dogs’ genetic markers, the researchers estimate that humans and their furry friends first arrived in Greenland about 1000 years ago. This date, which is several centuries earlier than previous estimates, supports the long-debated belief that the Inuit found their way to the island before Norse Vikings did. “We don’t have dogs without people,” lead study author Tatiana Feuerborn tells freelance producer Elah Feder in a related Science podcast. “These dogs arrived here with someone, and so that’s reflected in not only the dog’s history, but also the human history.” The study authors also identified four main genetic groups for the sled dogs, which mirror the geographic, cultural, and linguistic divisions among the island’s Indigenous peoples. These findings suggest that, after arriving in Greenland, different Inuit groups—and their dogs—remained fairly isolated, with limited mixing between regions and settlements. Surprisingly, although this isolation has led to low genetic diversity, Qimmit seem relatively unaffected by inbreeding. And while many other indigenous dogs mixed with or were replaced by European breeds, present-day Qimmit have minimal European ancestry. The work could help provide strategies for preserving healthy Qimmit populations, which are on the decline due to shrinking sea ice and competition from snowmobiles. But despite the rise of modern technologies, sled dogs are still the most reliable means of transportation around. “Unlike a snowmobile, sled dogs aren’t going to break down and they’re not going to run out of gas,” Feuerborn tells Popular Science. The dogs, she adds, have another big advantage: sniffing out seals and polar bears. In addition to their practical role, Qimmit also serve as invaluable repositories of cultural and—as this new research demonstrates—genetic history. “If we have any curiosity about ourselves, about us as humans, we have to understand dogs,” evolutionary biologist Audrey Lin, who wasn’t involved in the new research, tells Science News.

Nanorriutit are specialized dogs integral to traditional nanoq (polar bear) hunting in Avanersuaq (Thule district, North Greenland). This practice, involving a deep relationship between the piniartoq ...