Can we identify the Mexican hairless dog in the archaeological record? Morphological and genetic insights from Tizayuca, Basin of Mexico

Abstract

The Mexican Hairless dog, or Xoloitzcuintle, is a breed characterised by a sparse hair coat and a severe oligodontia. This phenotype is a consequence of Canine Ectodermal Dysplasia (CED) caused by a mutation on the FoxI3 autosomal gene. First accounts of hairless dogs in Mexico are dated to the 16 th century CE, according to the historical record, but pre-Hispanic dog skeletons presenting missing and abnormally shaped teeth have been interpreted as earlier evidence of hairless dogs. However, several questions remain unanswered regarding the timing of apparition of this phenotype and its relationship with modern hairless breeds. In this paper, we review the morphological characteristics of potential hairless dogs and we apply ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses along with radiocarbon dating to eight archaeological dog mandibles from Tizayuca, Basin of Mexico, presenting anomalies that could be attributed to a CED. The archaeological dogs were dated between 1620 and 370 years BP. Among these eight individuals, we identify four different mitochondrial haplotypes including two novel haplotypes. The dogs from the Basin of Mexico display a very high genetic diversity and continuity from the Classic to the Postclassic. However, our attempt at amplifying the FoxI3 mutation was unsuccessful. Finally, we show that some haplotypes are present in both archaeological dogs and modern hairless breeds, perhaps reflecting their maternal ancestry.

Dogs for the Gods, Fish for the Feast: The Ceremonial Role of Animals at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala

“…The fact that several dogs in the Gran Depósito possibly belonged to the hairless breed indicates they may have been specially selected for rituals. Currently, the earliest evidence for this breed is from Classic period deposits at Guadalupe (Rodríguez Galicia et al 2001), Tula (Valadez Azúa et al 1999), and Tizayuca (Manin et al 2018) in central Mexico. Other examples can be found throughout Mexico dating to the Postclassic period (AD 900–1500; Valadez Azúa 2020; Valadez Azúa et al 2013).…”

“…The hairless breed likely originated in central Mexico based on zooarchaeological and genetic data (Blanco Padilla et al 2008; Manin et al 2018). Certain characteristics of the dog are depicted in Mexican precolumbian art, including its prominent wrinkles and large ears, although these images could also represent short-haired dogs (Valadez Azúa 1996, 2020).…”

Biological and cultural history of domesticated dogs in the Americas

“…Hypotheses about the phylogenetic relationships between breeds have been generated from genomic data (Parker et al 2017), with some modern American breeds considered as basal (e.g., Alaskan Malamute, American Eskimo). There is substantial zooarchaeological and molecular evidence suggesting that pre-Columbian dogs are mostly extinct (including hairless dogs), and that these were replaced by the various European dog lineages (Leonard et al 2002;Castroviejo-Fisher et al 2011;Larson et al 2012;Thalmann et al 2013;Leathlobhair et al 2018;Manin et al 2018). Other authors have found evidence for a pre-Columbian origin and no modern European influence on Arctic ancient breeds such as Inuit, Eskimo, and Greenland dogs (Ameen et al 2019) , where the lateral view of B is mirrored.…”

The History of Domesticated Dogs in the Americas

“…). Shared genetic markers among modern and archaeological specimens assigned to hairless dogs also suggest common ancestry(Manin et al 2018). Valdés 1944, on La Plata River Basin).…”