The Chiribaya Dog ( es, perro Chiribaya) or Peruvian Shepherd Dog (') is an extinct

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

breed of dog from the southwest of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It has been established that it was a llama herding dog. The dogs were not only an important part of the social structure of the ancient

Peruvians Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

, but they received special treatment after death as well. The remains were 1,000 years old. The dog variety has been referred to in various Spanish-language documentaries under different terms, such as ''el perro pastor Chribaya'' ('the Chiribaya shepherd dog') and ' ('Peruvian shepherd'), though the ancient Peruvians did not keep sheep. Its original name is unknown (it has been referred to more ambiguously by the term ' or ' ('Peruvian dog', 'dog of Peru'), but this has also been applied to an extant but ancient hairless variety, referred to in more detail as ''perro sin pelo del Perú'', 'hairless dog of Peru', or the

Peruvian Inca Orchid The Peruvian Hairless Dog, Peruvian viringo, naked dog, or Chimú dog is one of several breeds of hairless dog. It is native to Peru and it is usually raised as a pet. It has been officially recognized as part of Peru's cultural heritage. ...

, a favorite in South American

dog show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

s).

Mummies

The dogs were found buried in cemeteries next to 42 human mummies of the

Chiribaya culture The Chiribaya culture flourished near the coast of southern Peru and adjacent Chile from 700 CE until Spanish settlement in the late 16th century. The classic phase of the Chiribaya culture was from 1000 CE until 1360 CE. The Chiribaya culture co ...

that flourished on the

Ilo District Ilo District is one of three districts of the province Ilo in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Banco de Información Distrital''. Retrieved April 11, 2008. Mayor: Gerardo Felipe Carpio Díaz (2019-2022) See also * Adm ...

Moquegua Region Moquegua () is a department and region in southern Peru that extends from the coast to the highlands. Its capital is the city of Moquegua, which is among the main Peruvian cities for its high rates of GDP and national education. Geography The ...

, on the southern coast of Peru, who seem to have buried their pets with all the honors of a faithful friend and co-worker. The finding is due to the research of anthropologist Sonia Guillén, who specializes in the study of ancient mummies from prosperous pre-Columbian cultures from the Chachapoyas to the shores of

Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Pr ...

. The mummies date from the "late middle" period, c. 900 to 1350 CE. In the port area of

Ilo The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

is Mallqui Center (from the word for 'mummy' in the

Quechua language Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common anc ...

), dedicated to research regarding Chiribaya culture. This society developed as a

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

. Their territory has a feature that is the dream of every archaeologist: its soil is extremely dry, and it contains large amounts of

nitrates Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...

, which ensured the preservation of the physical remains of those who inhabited this place. Sonia Guillén argues that the tomb of a person reflects his or her social, political and religious position within their society. In the case of these dogs, the tombs suggest that, having completed a productive life within the Chiribaya civilization, they received good treatment, whether dead or alive. Martha Meier Miró Quesada, a journalist, producer and documentary filmmaker and her team were able to record in pictures the findings and Sonia Guillen's investigations and in 2006 produced a documentary titled ''El Perro Pastor Chiribaya'' ('The Chiribaya Shepherd Dog').

Features

Ermanno Maniero, president of the Kennel Club of Peru, and veterinary doctor Viviana Fernández of the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educ ...

thoroughly examined the mummies found and determined that these dogs were short-legged, and were longer than they were tall; had an abundant variety of hair colors that could vary between yellow and red, some with dark spots on the back or head; had cropped ears and falls; and had feet like those of a

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

, allowing the animal to move on sand or soil with less effort, a quality that perhaps was important in the Chiribayas' environment. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Grazing

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

Textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

and

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s realize the llama-focused livestock activity of Chiribaya people, which underlines the importance of the "shepherd" (herding) dog in their society. According to research conducted by

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

Jane Wheeler, who worked in the middle valley of

and studied the remains of the llamas and the

alpacas The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

in the region, the Chiribayas raised a type of llama that had the longest, finest hair, but it was ignored by the Spanish conquerors, who used these llamas as pack animals, causing their demise. "Having so many llamas, the Chiribayas needed

herding dogs Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

. Then, they became co-workers with the people so that their death produced honor", says Sonia Guillén.

Lineage

The mummies of the Chiribaya dogs led researchers to initially hypothesize that the variety's descendants remain to this day. This seemed anecdotally confirmed by the similarity between the preserved remains and many of the dogs living in Ilo port, Tambo Valley, and the city of

Mollendo Mollendo is a town bordering the Pacific Ocean in southern Peru. It is located in the Arequipa Region and is the capital of both the Islay Province and the Mollendo District. Mollendo was the main port in the Peruvian southern coast until Matar ...

( Arequipa Department). Even the dog "Abdul", the watchdog of the facilities of the Mallqui Center, was thought to perhaps be a descendant of the Chiribaya dogs. Its yellow fur, drooping ears and short snout match the characteristics of the mummies. Martha Meier drew attention to this detail, saying that the local dogs called ''chusco'' match the known characteristics of a Chiribaya dog, so it would not be surprising that over the years, this has been spread throughout Peru: "What we do now is regain the purity of the breed of dog. So let's start working to gather DNA of dogs in the Ilo area for comparison with the mummies, and then begin a selection process and aging. It will take several years to work, but it is worth it", says the filmmaker.

DNA evidence

A study of

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

of the Chiribaya dogs found three

haplotype A haplotype ( haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent. Many organisms contain genetic material ( DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA or ...

s, two of them not found before. In 2018, an analysis of DNA from the entire

cell nucleus The cell nucleus (pl. nuclei; from Latin or , meaning ''kernel'' or ''seed'') is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, h ...

indicated that dogs entered North America from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

4,500 years after humans did, were isolated for the next 9,000 years, and after contact with Europeans these no longer exist because they were replaced by Eurasian dogs. The pre-contact dogs exhibit a unique genetic signature that is now gone.

Mummies

Features

Grazing

Lineage

DNA evidence

References

Further reading