Resten van een hond uit de vindplaats Hoekgrot (Java)

In 1890 the remains of a dog were found in the Javanese site Hoekgrot (Indonesia). This is exciting, because extremely little is known about the indigenous Indonesian dogs, moreover, this is the region that lies between the possible cradle of the dog (India and Arabia) and the region where the most primitive dogs are found nowadays, Australia and New Guinea. Consequently, the main question is if we are dealing with a dingo, pariah dog, or with a more modern type of dog. Within the research, a number of problems play a part. Although radiocarbon dates of the Hoekgrot site are available (fauna 2655 +/- 60 BP; human remains 3265 +/- 55 BP), there is little certainty about the age of the Hoekgrot dog because of the unknown geological context of the site. The skull of the Hoekgrot dog, an important item when it comes to assessing its affinity, is fragmentated, restricting thus its value for research. In general, too little is known of the dogs of Australasia, which is a handicap if one tries to interprete (pre)historic remains. Consequently, it has not been possible to arrive at solid conclusions. In the case of Hoekgrot, we are possibly dealing with the remains of a Javanese pariah dog, which is probably closely related to the dingoes of Australia and New Guinea. Before more solid conclusions about the phylogenetic position of the Hoekgrot dog can be drawn, a study of the relationship between Javanese pariah dogs and dingoes is needed, and the remains of the Hoekgrot dog have to be dated.