Abstract
According to Aboriginal myths and legends, the dingo (Canis lupus dingo) would have evolved in Australia from the "Dreaming" - the creation period - and have always been a highly estimated and valued companion. As a consequence of these oral memories and scarce testimonies of the past, for many years it was believed that the Aboriginal people brought Dingoes to Australia. However, this theory has now largely been discarded and most researchers believe that Asian seafarers who traded with the northern Aborigines, actually transported Dingoes from mainland Asia, through South-East Asia, to Australia and other parts of the Pacific, during their travels over the last 5000 years. The oldest fossil records of dingoes in South East Asia date back to 5,500 years and fossil evidence found in Australia suggest an arrival on the continent between 3000 and 4000 years ago. More accurate and reliable evidence came in 2004 from the DNA analysis of 211 dingoes from all over Australia, 676 dogs from other continents, 38 Eurasian wolves and 19 pre-European archaeological samples from Polynesia .
