Origin of the domestic dog as the Tibetan people. A population genetic analysis then showed a significant convergence between humans and dogs in Tibet. Like the Tibetan people, Tibetan mastiffs appear to have derived these benefits partially from the EPAS1 gene, acquired through introgression. In 2015, a study found that when dogs and their owners interact, extended eye contact (mutual gaze) increases oxytocin levels in both the dog and its owner. As oxytocin is known for its role in maternal bonding, it is considered likely that this effect has supported the coevolution of human-dog bonding. One observer has stated, "The dog could have arisen only
Origin of the domestic dog have diverged from their ancestor at a later time. Immediately after divergence, the dog population outnumbered the wolf population, and later the dog population underwent a population reduction to be much lower than that of the wolf. In 2017, a study compared the nuclear genome sequences of three Neolithic dog specimens from Germany and Ireland with sequences from over 5,000 dogs and wolves. The study found that modern European dogs descended from their Neolithic ancestors with no evidence of a population turnover found by an earlier study. The study found that a single dog-wolf divergence occurred 36,900-41,500 YBP, followed by