Page 202 - ShowSight - June 2020

The Evololution of THE SAMOYED
AND ITS APPLICATION WHEN JUDGING THE BREED
“Up on the remote Russian tundra, however, a new discovery was unearthed in 2004, dating back to that same time period in history: the remains of the oldest proto-Samoyed!”
The years around 3000 BC were a time of development for world civilizations. The Iceman, Europe’s oldest natural Chal-
iolithic mummy, lived during this period; Egypt had its first Pharaoh; the wheel was invented; and the Druids had begun the construction of Stonehenge, which would not be completed for another 1,500 years. Up on the remote Russian tundra, however, a new discovery was unearthed in 2004, dat- ing back to that same time period in history: the remains of the oldest proto-Samoyed!
The Samoyed was originally thought to be an aboriginal breed that was indigenous to the Russian tundra. It is now thought, due to modern DNA testing, that the earli- est proto-Samoyed may have migrated into Russia from China. USA Today reported in 2004 that researchers had announced sur- prising news regarding which breeds of dog came first. By analyzing genetic data from 85 breeds, researchers discovered that Asian Spitz-type breeds may be the most ancient descendants of its primitive wolf ancestors from 40,000 years ago.
It was once thought that all dogs origi- nated in Asia, migrating with nomadic hunters to Africa and the Arctic. It is now thought that dogs originated from civiliza- tions around the world at different times. A subset of the oldest group that is thought to come from Asia are the three Northern breeds: Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds and Siberian Huskies. All three breeds have the closest genetic relationship to the ancient, now extinct wolf. According to researchers, these three breeds may be “the best living representatives of the ancestral dog gene pool.” This is due to thousands of years of isolation in remote arctic locations.
The theory is that proto-dogs were prob- ably domesticated by accident, when wolves began trailing ancient hunter-gatherers to snack on their garbage. The more docile wolves may have been slipped extra food
scraps...so they survived better and passed along their genes. Eventually, those friend- lier wolves evolved into proto-dogs.
It is thought (because there were no written records) that the proto-Samoyed most likely followed nomadic hunters migrating from Asia to the Russian tundra. There the hunters found an abundance of reindeer, switched to reindeer herding, and began migrating with the herds around the tundra. The proto-Samoyeds continued to follow the humans and the herd. This became a lifestyle for these aboriginal peo- ple who later became known as the “Rein- deer People.” The region of Russia where the Reindeer lived was in a location where winter began in September and lasted until the end of May.
The herd would migrate in a 700-800 mile migration pattern in search of food. The reindeer were independent creatures, and it required very vigilant and alert dogs to keep the large herd intact! The early proto-Samoyed dogs, known as “Laikas,” which is Russian for “barkers,” had to quickly adapt and learn to co-exist closely not only with the humans, but also with the herd in order to survive the brutal arctic conditions. Co-existing allowed these early dogs access to warmth, shelter and food in exchange for the dogs’ protection and assis- tance with keeping the herd together. Man and dog were co-dependent on each other for survival in a frozen land where death seemed easy and survival difficult during the long winter months. The average lifes- pan for the “Reindeer People” was around 45 years.
Highly intelligent, the Samoyed became an independent, free-thinking breed that worked primarily off-lead in wide-open ter- ritories, unlike the other Northern breeds that worked primarily in harness. The largest tribe of reindeer herders was the Nenet tribe, who referred to themselves as “Children of the Reindeer” and had a close
CAROL HJORT, CHAIRPERSON SCA JUDGES EDUCATION COMMITTEE
200 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2020