Giovanni Padrone 🇺🇦

Thank you. In reality, AI does much simpler things: it identifies the type of dog based on the shape and size of its skull and bones size, then creates a "live" version. What can make the difference is short coat, as in this case, or wired or rogue-like coat.

Free-roaming dogs tend to have a similar morphotype, so I'm not surprised your Otis looked like the dog I reconstructed using AI.

To understand how archaeozoological and artistic discoveries reconstruct this history, #ROMA CANES MUNDI offers a detailed and in-depth vision of this fascinating bond. It is a long journey into Roman society, in search of the canine types of the time. #dogspics #booksky📚🐕📜 #history

Herding Dogs – Roman canine selection also included the first herding dogs, or “wolf-like” specialized in guiding flocks and herds to pasture. Their existence is historically attested by Marcus Terentius Varro in his Rerum Rusticarum (37 BC), and they appear in other artworks.

Large Guardians – Big dogs, such as #mastiffs or molossians, were employed as guardians of livestock and villas (domus). Though their appearance was often “grim” to deter intruders, their care and health were carefully considered, as shown in agricultural treatises and archaeological finds.

#Sighthounds and #Hounds – The elegance and speed of sighthounds were celebrated by poets such as Martial and Arrian, who meticulously described their hunting skills. These dogs, including Mediterranean hounds (like the Cretan Hound), symbolized power and mastery over nature. #Crete

Dogs fulfilled every social and economic need:
Small Companion Dogs – widespread and highly appreciated, from spitz-type to brachycephalic or brachymelic dogs, ideal for domestic life and for hunting parasites in homes. Funerary steles and epitaphs testify to the intense affection. #archaeology

If you had been fortunate enough to be a person of some importance, you might have met Hadrian the Great in the 2nd century. You would have been surprised by the deep respect he had for his horses and dogs, to the point of building tombs for them after their death. #dogsofluesky #Rome #books #stem

Let us imagine going back almost 2,000 years, to the Roman Imperial period. Among the many features that united the urban centers of the Empire, one would have fascinated any dog lover or “heretical” scholar of canine origins: the presence of #dogs living alongside both the poor and the emperor.

#dogs - THE SEVEN OLDEST LIVING BREEDS #stem #ancienthistory #genetics #pets YouTube video by Dogs_Historian - Giovanni Padrone

#dogs THE 7 OLDEST LIVING BREEDS
Here's the RANKING of the 7 oldest living #breeds according to genetics.
🐶🤣🖖 No mistreated any fortune teller, local magician or charlatan😉
For more info read my #books about the origins of the dog.
#stem #dogsofbluesky #genetics
youtube.com/shorts/fTegZ...

I wrote about the Chavin, Paracas and their dogs in my book:
MIGRATIONS – Ancient Dogs of the Americas
Available in English, Spanish and Italian.
A journey into obscure gods, lost cultures… and extraordinary dogs.
#Zooarchaeology #DogHistory #AncientAmerica #latinos

The #Paracas also lived with dogs, but the remains were too fragmentary to identify types.
Still, their presence confirms early human-canine coexistence in the Andes, long before colonial records.

One jaw found in 1991 resembled a #dog similar to the modern Peruvian hairless breed.
It may be a furred ancestor.
At the time, the FOXI3 mutation was unknown, and the remains were attributed to the ‘Perro viringo’—but no further studies followed.

mother dog with puppies - Chavin Culture

Double Headed dog - Paracas Culture

The Paracas settled around Ica, on Peru’s southern coast.
Both cultures were among the first in South America to coexist with #dogs.
The Chavin lived with at least two types: one large and robust, the other more slender.

The #Chavin and the #Paracas (2800 / 1400 years ago) emerged two centuries apart in ancient #Peru.
The Chavin spread from the northern coast to #Nazca in the south and #Tumbes in the north, near today's border with #Ecuador. #dogsofbluesky #art #archaeology

A small #dog with a gigantic #history and, as we can imagine, an ego just as gigantic as its descendant. Next time you see a Chihuahua, remember you are looking at the heir of an ancient guardian of #pyramids!
And... all about #Techichi history in my #book MIGRATION.

Archaeological Evidence
Many finds, such as the famous Colima figurines found in Mexico, depict #dogs similar to the Techichi described by the friar Bernardino de Sahagún in the 16th century, testifying to its unbreakable bond with the daily life of the Maya, Aztecs, and other regional cultures.

Starting in the 1700s, the breed was refined by crossing these survivors with other native breeds, including likely the small-sized #Xoloitzcuintle, preserving its indigenous heritage.

The DNA Signature
Contrary to popular belief, the modern Chihuahua is not a European product. Genetic studies (such as the 2017 study by Ostrander et al. published in Cell Reports) have shown that this breed retains the DNA of the surviving Techichi. #genetics #dna

Between the Sacred and the Profane
For the Aztecs, who inherited the passion for this breed, the Techichi possessed supernatural powers. They believed it could see the future and was the only guide capable of leading its master’s soul through the perils of Mictlán, the Underworld. #Mexico #chihuahua

A Millennial History
The Techichi was far more than just a pet. Its traces date back to the 9th century AD, when the Toltecs bred them in the Tula region. Larger than today's Chihuahua, it was a sturdy #dog with strong bones and, according to chronicles of the time, it was mute, it never barked.

THE ANCIENT GUARDIAN OF THE AFTERLIFE: THE LEGEND OF THE TECHICHI

We all know the feisty Chihuahua, but did you know its ancestor was a "spiritual dog" revered by lost civilizations? Today, let's discover the Techichi, the mysterious dog of pre-Columbian Mexico. #dogsofbluesky #archaeology #art

I wrote about this and other mosaics in my latest book #ROMA CANES MUNDI, paperback and electronic format, in #english, #español and #italian.

As everywhere in the Empire, even in Bosra the Romans celebrated their hunting #dogs in artworks, as in this mosaic with two #sighthounds chasing three large #hares and further down another sighthound apparently being chased by a #bear.

The city flourished and became a major metropolis at the juncture of several trade routes, namely the Via Traiana Nova, a Roman road connecting Damascus to the Red Sea.

Under the #Romanempire, Bosra was renamed Nova Trajana Bostra and was the residence of the legio III Cyrenaica. It was made capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea.

Syria - Bosra - Roman theatre - 2nd century CE - Detail of the mosaic Bosra was the first Nabatean city in the 2nd century BC. The Nabatean Kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma, a general of Trajan, in 106 CE. #archaeology #art #dogs #history #dogsofbluesky

If the #art and #History of #dogsofX in the ancient Roman world fascinates you, I invite you to explore this topic further. Available in paperback and epub format, the #book ROMA CANES MUNDI is your guide to discover how these faithful companions were immortalized in art and culture of the past.

Vibrant mosaics, expressive figurines, and other artistic artifacts reveal the importance and respect these creatures enjoyed in ancient times.

My journey through the sites of North #africa, documented in #roma #Canes #mundi, reveals that #canine art was not just an ornament, but a celebration of life and man's most faithful companion.