1934. SCHARFF — On the Breeds of Dogs peculiar to Ireland. 79 



capital of Helvetia, various breeds of hunting dogs were 

 figured. A skull of a dog of the type of a sheep-dog was 

 unearthed in the Roman settlement of Vindonissa in 

 Switzerland. The Romans had even adopted a rough 

 classification of dogs into the three groups of Canes villatici 

 (watch dogs), Canes pastorales (sheep-dogs) and Canes 

 venatici (hunting-dogs). 



The study of the origin and history of the various breeds 

 has derived much assistance from a critical examination 

 of the skulls and bones met with in caves, kitchen-middens, 

 and all sorts of superficial deposits in many parts of the 

 w^orld. The ancient lake-dwellings of Switzerland have 

 yielded a great deal of valuable material for such study 

 which has been utilized particularly by Riitimeyer a,nd 

 Studer. Neolithic deposits on the shores of Lake Ladoga 

 in Russia contained some dog-skulls which w^ere described 

 by Anutchin. It is of interest to note that they are of the 

 type of the Torfhnnd of Switzerland, but have an even 

 more striking relationship with the dog from the crannog 

 of Dunshaughlin in Ireland, which will be alluded to again 

 later on. Nehring collected many skulls of dogs in German 

 surface deposits, and described them. Ancient dog remains 

 from Italy are dealt with by Strobel, and those from Bo- 

 hemia and the neighbouring states by Woldrich and leit teles. 

 French researches have been largely initiated by Geoffroy 

 St. Hilaire, Bourguignat, Boule, and Megniu. The origin 

 of the dogs of the New World has been studied recently by 

 Miller, Gidley, Allen and others. The rich collection of 

 skulls and bones made by Pumpelly at Anau in Turkestan is 

 worthy of special mention, because it enables us to recon- 

 struct the fauna which lived during the accumulation of 

 the different culture strata in that country. Duerst identi- 

 fied in the earhest of these deposits a sheep-dog showing 

 relationship with the Australian Dingo and with an extinct 

 Russian wild dog. He states that he has also seen similar 

 skulls from Greece in the Museum of Vienna.*^ 



5 Riitimeyer, L. : Die Fauna d. Pfahlbauten d. Schweiz. Neue 

 Denlischr. d. Schweiz. Gesellsch. f. d. ges. Xatunv., 1862. 



6 Duerst, M. : " Animal Remains from the excavations at Anau." 

 Carnegie Institution, Washington, Publ. No. 73, 1909. 



A 2 



