Illinois Is Officially The Home Of The Oldest Dog
It's no longer cute and cuddly, but a long time ago it was definitely a good boy.
Archaeology.com - Dog remains recovered at two archaeological sites in Illinois have been dated to 10,000 years ago... the three dogs had been buried individually, and their bones did not bear any stone tool marks, which suggests they had died of natural causes.
The site is located in central Illinois and the 10,000-year-old remains best the previous North American oldest remains by almost 1,000 years.
Alas, these aren't the oldest remains found in the world. Those were found in Germany and dated back 14,000 years.
The domestication of dogs is really fascinating. It happened quickly and it seems like humans and dogs almost domesticated each other.
There are some good videos out there about the topic, but this is one of my favorites.