An “extremely rare” 16,000-year-old canine skeleton from southern France offers evidence that Stone Age humans cared for their pets – although the animal was also probably killed by humans.

“It is feasible that the individual obtained [its] injuries from being beaten or struck by people,” says Loukas Koungoulos at the University of Western Australia, who was not involved in the analysis of the skeleton.

The specimen was discovered in a French cave called Baume Traucade in 2021 by a group of spelunkers.