78 The Irish Naturalist. August, 



originated from the Coyote or Prairie Wolf, although Allen 

 denies their relationship.^ 



In the more remote times it was not customary to give 

 accurate descriptions of the shape and colour of animals, 

 but as regards our domestic stock, we derive a great deal of 

 information from various ancient mural drawings and 

 decorative paintings, as well as from sculptures. In this 

 way we have gained some knowledge of the breeds of dogs 

 kept by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, as well as the Greeks, 

 Romans, and Gauls. Many of the primitive coins bear 

 excellent impressions of domesticated animals. Even 

 some of the northern colonies of Rome have yielded animal 

 designs which give us glimpses into the domesticated 

 fauna of central Europe at that time. The most precious 

 and highly esteemed dog in ancient Egyptian times was 

 the Greyhound, which on account of its agility and dash, 

 was employed in hunting antelopes. This dog was 

 apparently short-haired. Long-eared sporting dogs, sheep- 

 dogs and hounds were likewise kept. Even from the 

 Terrier and Pomeranian group there were examples, while 

 one dog had the appearance of a modern Dachshund. 

 The Assyrians, on the other hand, do not seem to have 

 known so many breeds. The hunters favoured powerful 

 Mastiffs, such as we see so faithfully represented in the 

 sculptures and potteries contained in the British Museum. 

 Layard suggested that these dogs might have been brought 

 to Mesopotamia from India. A second Ass^Tian dog some- 

 what resembled the Greyhound. From Greece we gain 

 our knowledge to a large extent from representations of 

 dogs on coins.* Among these there occurs a good likeness 

 of a small dog of the Pomeranian or Eskimo type. A 

 leaden statuette of a true hound with pendulous ears was 

 found in the Akropolis of Athens, showing that this variety 

 was known to the Greeks before the Christian era. The 

 Romans seem to have imported that breed from Gaul. 

 In a Roman mosaic discovered at Aventicum, the ancient 



3 Allen, G. M. : " Dogs of the American Aborigines." Bull. Mus. Comp. 

 Zool., Harvard, vol. Ixiii, 1920. 



* Keller, C. : Die Abstammung der altesten Haustiere. Zurich, 1902. 



