Oldest dog debated
Fossil jaw may, or may not, come from oldest known example of man’s best friend
By Bruce Bower
Every dog has its day, but that day took more than 14,000 years to dawn for one canine. A jaw fragment found in a Swiss cave comes from the earliest known dog, according to scientists who analyzed and radiocarbon-dated the fossil.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/12804.jpg?resize=300%2C183&ssl=1)
Dog origins remain poorly understood, however, and some researchers say that dog fossils much older than the Swiss find have already been excavated.