iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 2h

In 1914, in Corropoli (Teramo), archaeologists uncovered a burial unlike any other. A Neolithic woman and her dog, resting together for 7,000 years. Not a myth — a bond written in bone. #dogs #sighthounds #ancientDna #stem #booksky

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Assyrian war #dogs? A modern myth. The walls of the palace at Nineveh, built in the 7th century BC, have left us incredible scenes of large mastiffs and soldiers. War dogs? #ancientdogs #anciendna #ancienthistory #art

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The Dog as a Global Psychopomp Across almost every continent, ancient cultures independently linked the #dog to the #afterlife. This is not a local myth — it’s a recurring archetype revealed by #historiography, #iconography, and #zooarchaeology. #stem #ancientdna #Booksky

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Amidst the canyons of North America, rock art reveals an ancient secret: canine figures guiding shamans and spirits. A journey through myth, rock, and threshold creatures. The mystery of the Pecos awaits you in the new episode. #ancientart #dog #petroglyphs #nativeamerican #archaeology

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Five thousand years ago, a dog was laid to rest beside a human at Real Alto, Ecuador. No wounds, no butchering — just a bond strong enough to cross millennia. Today, this ancient companion still watches us from the distant past. #ancienthistory #ancientdna #dogs_of_world #valdivia #genetics #stem

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Before the Inca, dogs were already in South America.The oldest remains? The Valdivia culture in Ecuador: 5,000 years ago. But how did dogs get there, and what did they represent? A thread that rewrites the history of our oldest companion. #dogs #stem #AncientHistory #ancientdna

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

When we see a #Poodle, we think of a salon / companion #dog. But its story begins in the water. For centuries, in Europe its ancestors were #dogs used to hunt and retrieve waterfowl. The Poodle was shaped by mud, marshes, and hard work. #ancientdna #history #genetics Images ai generated

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

On the island of Crete, ancient hounds (Kritikos Lagonikos) still roam—witnesses to myth: Minos, the Minotaur, Ariadne, Perseus, Icarus and Daedalus. Timeless dogs, bearers of enduring beauty. #dogs #AncientDogs #Crete #Mythology #History #ancientdna

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

People say mixed‑breed dogs live longer than purebreds. Global data shows a different picture: over 70% of the world’s dogs are free‑roaming, no breed and their lifespan is only 1–4 years. Longevity depends on living conditions, not on “breed vs. mix. #dogs #ancientdna #genetics #history

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The world's oldest dog has no pedigree. There is a paradox hardly anyone addresses: "breed" is a recent concept, and the mixed-breed dog—which isn't a breed at all—is perhaps the closest thing to the original #dog. #ancientdna #newbook #genetics #ancienthistory #stem

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The Molossus of Epirus — Myth vs Reality The Molossus of Epirus is one of the most cited dogs in ancient literature — yet also one of the most misunderstood. Between myth, modern marketing, and misread sources, its real identity has been blurred. #dog #ancientDna #history #Greece #lgds #stem

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Rubelia On December 3rd it will be one year since you left us. And yet so many things about you are still here with us. I’m not talking only about the photos and the many videos we took of you (almost all of them by Tania)... #dogs #whippet #mourning

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Our homegrown dramatic diva: Aria, a small sized, coated, bully (also with a big #Kangal female) 8 months old #Xoloitzcuintle. The true Lady of the house. #DogsofBluesky #Dogpics

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Livestock guardian #dogs were shaped by long-term selection on genes like OXTR / DRD2, reducing predatory drive and enhancing calmness, cooperation and social bond with the flock. Genetics reflect functional work, not myth. In my research 'The true origins of LGDS'. www.academia.edu/165229709/Th...

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Until recently, #China promoted the idea that all #dogs on Earth originated in the region south of the Yangtze River. However, no remains of the #wolf (Canis lupus) —the dog’s ancestor—were ever found in those territories. #ancientdna #genetics #book

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Genomics (LI, Wang 2023) reveals that #sighthounds do not have a single ancestor: they emerged independently in #Africa, #Europe, and the Middle East via parallel paths. #middleeast #genetics #stem #dogs #book

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The Maltese dog: ancient or not? For decades, people claimed it came from Classical Greece — Aristotle himself supposedly kept a kennel of Maltese dogs😉. But the story doesn’t hold: it’s a classic 20th‑century marketing trick. Read 30 Canine Mythologies. #maltese #dogs #ancientGreece #stem #genetics

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Ancient Dogs of the Paraná: A Story of Coexistence and Mystery Ancient #dogs reached the #Paraná basin surprisingly late — around 1600–1400 years ago — yet they formed one of the deepest human–dog bonds in South #America. #genetics #history #Migrations #book #ancientdna

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Do livestock guardian #dogs share a common ancestor? Genetics has clarified that the traits shared by all these #dog breeds are the result of functional convergence—different populations, identical roles. Watch the detail in my free #study (link below). #ancientdna www.academia.edu/165229709/Th...

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Is it true that the Italian #Greyhound comes straight from the #Neolithic? Not true. This is one of many modern myths debunked by genetics. The breed was created from a very small founder group between the late 19th century. From my #book "30 Canine Mythologies". #dog #genetics #history #stem

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Does the Pharaoh Hound come from Egypt? False! Genetics reveals the breed is barely 80 years old, descended from the Cirneco, Ibizan hound and whippet. That's a rebrand for marketing. In my #book '30 Canine Mythologies'. #dog #genetics #history #stem

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

What do Pompeii, the Renaissance, and Paris Hilton have in common? Small dogs that have spanned human history, present in every era, culture, and civilization. I wrote about these little four-legged friends in all my #books on ancient #dogs — including 30 Canine Mythologies. #AncientDna #Doghistory

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Genomics show Maremmano‑Abruzzese, Sila and Mannara flock guardians form a tight Italian cluster, with no special ancestry from the ‘ancient’ Tibetan Mastiff – the Tibetan‑mastiff‑as‑ancestor myth doesn’t hold up. In my research on academia edu (free download) www.academia.edu/165229709/Th...

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Demographic #genetics (Lewis 2020) estimates that the Dalmatian breed formed about 500 years ago in the European cluster, refuting prehistoric Balkan roots. In: 30 Canine Mythologies. #ancientdna #history #book

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Does the Italian Greyhound have ancient origins? No, #genetics (Parker 2017) reveals a recent truth: it is a 19th-century breed crossed with Terriers. In my #book 30 Canine Mythologies. #greyhounds #dog #ancientdna #ancienthistory #30caninemythologies

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

In the Bhimbetka petroglyph (#India), dated to 10,000–12,000 years ago, a #man walks a #dog on a leash — remarkably similar to a modern INDog. This is the oldest known depiction of a dog walk. Read HEAVEN CAN WAIT. #ancientDna #ancienthistory #art #book

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

14,200 years ago in Bonn-Oberkassel, Sapiens cared for a puppy with distemper. No practical utility, just pure affection. This is where the domestic dog was born. In my #book ROMA CANES MUNDI #dogs #ancientdna #caring #sapiens

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The Leonberger was born from an audacious promise: “I’ll create a dog that looks like the lion on our city’s coat of arms.” Herr Essig mixed #Newfoundland, Saint Bernard and other furry giants… and voilà: a brand-new “royal #dog” appeared. #mythology #30caninemythologies #genetics

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Sighthounds carry an ancient elegance that recalls deserts, steppes and open plains. Early Holocene rock art from Tassili n’Ajjer already shows hunting #dogs. But what were those animals, and how do they relate to modern #sighthounds? #Ancientdna #genetics #archaeology

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A Taimyr #wolf #genome shows #dogs split from modern wolves 27–40k years ago. Domestication was a complex, multi‑population process, with northern breeds carrying ancient ancestry. I explore these discoveries in my #book 'And Dog Decided to Meet Man' (2023). #Ancientdna #genetics

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Etruscan evidence indicates the presence of several canine breeds, not a single "Etruscan #dog." #Sighthounds, #hounds, #mastiffs, companionship, and other tasks required different characteristics. The modern name should not be confused with that of an ancient breed. In my #book Roma Canes Mundi.

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The Roman hunting #dog was not a fixed model. From North African #mosaics to villas in #Italy, the images show considerable variety. Functional selection influenced appearance, but it did not necessarily produce a modern breed. In my #book Roma Canes Mundi

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Would you confuse a #Lamborghini with Lieutenant Columbo’s car? Then why confuse a #Sloughi with a #Saluki? Genetic studies make it clear: two separate clades, two different homelands. Their full story is in my #book Origins. #sighthounds #ancientdna #dog

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

People swear the Chihuahua is ancient: bloggers, memes, Christmas uncles, Greys, Romulans, Klingons… even Aladdin’s cousin. If it’s tiny, it must be a fossil. Biology? No matter. #stem #AncientDna #dog #chihuahua #newbook

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Village #dogs aren’t a pure Indian breed. They’re a population — fluid, diverse, shaped by millennia of coexistence with humans. Not #fossils , not relics: living #genetic #archives of human history. Their real story is far more fascinating than the myth. From my #book #heavencanwait #stem #genetics

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

The sighthound of ancient Persia does not automatically equate to a modern breed, even if a ‘ #Saluki ’ morphotype has existed for thousands of years. Iconography, functions and different territories reveal a complex history. #dog #archaeozology #ancientdna #ancienthistory

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The “Phoenician #dog” is mostly a modern label. Canine populations in the Levant were likely diverse and shaped by continuous exchanges and admixture. Their history is far more complex than 20th century national narratives suggest. #Ancientdna #ancientdogs #archaeology #ancienthistory

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Bully Kutta - A Great Mastiff from India #STEM #dog #bullykutta #india #genetics From England to Punjab: the recent history of the Bully Kutta and the truth about "eternal" breeds. Sorry if I immediately thought of #marveluniverse Comics... 😁 Video AI generated

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Today we celebrate Dog Day. But did you know that the Mayans had a calendar whose 20-day months had their own "Dog Day" on the tenth day, called T'zi' (from T'zi', dog)?

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The Egyptian #dogs did not have a single morphology. Remains, mummies and images show different morphologies and functions. No modern breed can automatically claim a “pure” Egyptian heritage. In my #book Origins. #archaeology #art #ancientDNA

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

In dog breeding, we love the idea of “unchanged ancient breeds.” But science tells a more dynamic story — one shaped by migrations, adaptation, and myth. #dogs #archaeology #ancientdna

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The “Roman mastiff” was not a single breed in the modern sense. Finds, mosaics and texts show different dogs, selected in different regions for different functions. A modern name does not turn an ancient population into a breed. #stem #dog #romanempire In my #book #romacanesmundi

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Do you still think that sloughi and saluki are the same sighthound? 'The Saluki was Egyptian (but it was the sloughi) and Persian'. In 2017 the study by Ostrander, Parker et al. places them in two separate clades. That's matters for genomic data: no fairy tales. #ancientdna #dog #Origins #book

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Curious how Livestock Guardian Dogs actually evolved across the Mediterranean and the Middle East? Grab my study ‘The True Origins of Livestock Guardian Dogs’ for free on Academia.edu — link below. www.academia.edu/165229709/Th...

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Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦 @dogshistorian.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#DogsofBluesky #DogsPics My two dog ladies: The old one, Pennylane, #whippet 16 years old The youngest, Aria, coated #xoloitzcuintle, 6 months old.

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Reposted by Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦

Anthropology.net @anthropology.net · 01/06/2026

A 19,000-year-old woman buried in an ochre-stained cave in Spain was still carrying Neanderthal bacteria in her dental plaque. Thirty years of excavation at El Mirón keep rewriting the Ice Age. #Paleoanthropology #AncientDNA #Prehistory www.anthropology.net/p/the-cave-t...

anthropology.net

The Cave That Kept Giving

Thirty years of excavation at El Mirón have turned a limestone cave in Cantabrian Spain into one of the most complete records of human prehistory in Europe.

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Reposted by Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦

Hannah Moots @mootspoints.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

New paper (from my colleagues @cpgsthlm.bsky.social!) showing children in Viking-Age & Medieval Sweden were buried in gendered ways, but those buried together were rarely close biological relatives. A great example of how #AncientDNA sheds new light on childhood, kinship & social organization 🧬

science.org

Equal in death: Ancient genomic analysis of children’s early Christian burials

Ancient genomes challenge views of close kinship in multiple Christian burials, revealing flexible traditions around children.

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Reposted by Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦

Anthropology.net @anthropology.net · 29/11/2025

Ancient DNA from Shimao reveals a patrilineal megasettlement built on local ancestry, distant contacts, and gendered ritual sacrifice. A rare glimpse into hierarchy before China’s earliest states. #Archaeology #AncientDNA #Anthropology #HumanEvolution www.anthropology.net/p/the-city-o...

anthropology.net

The City of Skulls and Fathers: Ancient DNA Reshapes the Story of Shimao’s Neolithic World

How a mega-settlement on the Loess Plateau stitched together ancestry, hierarchy, and ritual violence in the centuries before China’s earliest states

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Reposted by Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦

Sitting on a corn flake @grrlscientist.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

The Old Irish Goat Carries 3,000 Years Of Irish History In Its DNA #SciComm🧪 by @grrlscientist.bsky.social #history📜 #Archaeology #ancientDNA #genomics🧬 #proteomics www.forbes.com/sites/grrlsc...

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