Dog breed
The domestic dog was introduced to South America between 5,500 and 2,500 BCE from North America. They occupied the Andes region and spread into the Amazonian Basin relatively recently, in the 20th century. Today, very few of the original South American dogs remain, mostly replaced with introduced breeds from Eurasia.
History: Dogs were brought to the Americas about 10,000 years BCE (Before Common Era) and made their way to South America sometime between 7,500 and 4,500 BCE. While American dogs were once believed to be descended from American grey wolves, recent studies have concluded that the Native American dogs descend from Eurasian grey wolves and were brought to America when the first peoples migrated there from Siberia. At this time, about five founding lineages of dogs crossed into the Americas, seen in the mtDNA of ancient dog remains.
The Peruvian Hairless Dog, an indigenous breed, probably made its way to South America after 500 BCE. They are closely related to the Xoloitzcuintle, a breed of dog indigenous to Mexico. They are also believed to be closely related to the Chiribaya Dog, another indigenous breed that is now extinct. The Peruvian Hairless dog was believed to have supernatural abilities and could see spirits as well as act as a psychopomp, a guide to the afterlife, and thus was often buried with people of high status.
In 1913, Colonel Percy Fawcett claimed to encounter a dog with two noses in the Amazon rainforest. Colonel John Blashford-Snell confirmed the existence of such a breed, the double-nosed Andean tiger hound, while in Bolivia in 2005. These dogs may have descended from the Pachón Navarro, a Spanish breed of hunting dog occasionally exhibiting a double nose.