ABOVE: Snippets of DNA from extinct species linger in the genomes of many animals, including the Tibetan mastiff depicted above.
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Nestled in the middle of the Himalayas is the Tibetan plateau—a large, flat, largely grassy expanse with an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. At such heights, the air is thin, and because of the surrounding mountains, the region receives little rain. It’s a cold, harsh environment—one that many animals simply aren’t cut out for.
Homo sapiens managed to settle in this unforgiving landscape around 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, and around 10,000 years ago, they brought their dogs. While that might suggest our species is especially rugged or adaptable, we now know that neither the people nor their pets toughed it out alone—both cribbed DNA notes from other species in order to adapt. Either before, during, or shortly after their migration to the plateau, H. ...
