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Dog paw prints about 4,000 years old have been found in a mudbrick at Tavşanlı Höyük, a mound in northwestern Anatolia in Kütahya province, Turkey. These traces, preserved in a wall that collapsed during a Bronze Age fire, were reported by the magazine Archaeology, which cites the website La Brújula Verde.
A discovery in a wall collapsed by fire
According to the magazine Archaeology, which relies on the website La Brújula Verde, the prints were spotted in an adobe brick forming part of a wall. This wall collapsed during a fire in the Bronze Age, about 4,000 years ago.
Adobe bricks are made from clay mixed with water and straw or other temper, then dried in the sun. When they are not fired, they remain fragile, but a fire can harden them and allow surface marks, such as footprints, to survive for millennia.
Tavşanlı Höyük, a site occupied for millennia
Tavşanlı Höyük is a höyük, meaning a mound formed by the successive accumulation of occupation layers. Archaeology describes it as a settlement mound dating back some 8,000 years, making it a long-lived witness to settled life in western Anatolia.
The excavations are led by Erkan Fidan of Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University and his team. They have uncovered pottery, adobe fragments, bones, burnt wood and flint, remains that help reconstruct the occupation of the site.
The dog, companion of early communities
Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, stated that the prints were left by a dog. This attribution rests on the shape and size of the traces, which match those of a canid.
The dog is one of the earliest animals domesticated by humans, and it already accompanied farming communities in the Near East and Anatolia. Animal prints preserved in building materials are rare, and they offer direct evidence of animals' presence in the everyday life of villages of the period.
A method: reading traces left in the earth
Archaeologists pay close attention to ephemeral traces, such as footprints, paw prints or finger marks, because they can reveal everyday actions. Their preservation depends on particular conditions: soil still damp when the animal passed, then firing or a fire that fixes the surface.
These prints are studied through photographic recording and comparison with modern tracks, in order to identify the species and avoid hasty interpretations. The results remain provisional until the excavation team publishes them in detail.
What is known and what remains to be established
At this stage, the available information comes mainly from the press and official statements. Archaeology notes that the discovery is part of a wider excavation, and that other remains, such as bones or burnt wood, may be analysed to refine the chronology of the fire.
Next steps will likely include precise dating of the layers, analysis of the materials and scientific publication of the results. These analyses should help clarify daily life in the village and the events that ended its occupation.
Frequently asked questions
Where were the Bronze Age dog paw prints found?
The prints were discovered in an adobe brick at Tavşanlı Höyük, a höyük in Kütahya province, western Anatolia, Turkey. The brick was part of a wall that collapsed during a fire.
Who is excavating Tavşanlı Höyük?
The excavations are led by Erkan Fidan of Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University and his team. They have yielded pottery, adobe fragments, bones, burnt wood and flint.
Why can prints survive for 4,000 years?
A print can be fixed if the soil was still damp when the animal passed, then hardened by firing or a fire. The heat, drying and hardening the adobe, preserved the trace.
Is Tavşanlı Höyük very old?
According to the magazine Archaeology, the höyük dates back some 8,000 years, which shows a very long occupation of this region of western Anatolia.
Sources
- Paw Prints Found in Bricks From Anatolian Bronze Age Building — Archaeology Magazine
Original summary written with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited, checked automatically, then translated from the French original. Information and quotations belong to their authors. Read the French original.
