490 ANNUAL KEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



a second colony on the island ol" Crete. For the long-eared hunting 

 dogs we will also have to assume an African origin, for the}- appear 

 fii'st in the oldest dynasties; in fact, it is questionable if they have not 

 been demonstrated in neolithio times, though this seems to be carry- 

 ing things a little too far. Hunting dogs reached the lands of the 

 Mediterranean from Egypt, where they are still, numerically speak- 

 ing, best represented. 



In conclusion, I wish to answer the question: From what places in 

 Asia and Africa did the animals emigrate to reach Europe ? 



This question is most intimately related with the derivation of the 

 sum total of European culture, of which the domestic animals form a 

 considerable part of the cultural acquirement. 



How far the lands of the Caucasus have figm'ed as an entrance 

 port remains to be determined. It is important to consider next 

 the JLgean Isles as an intermediary, for these form a bridge to Europe. 

 Here one has recently discovered a peculiar island culture, which, in 

 many respects, might be considered Mycenian. This, of course, is 

 uncertain. To om' great surprise, a much older and much more 

 remarkable culture has been discovered on the island of Crete in the 

 last 10 years. Following Arthm' Evans, one now calls this the 

 ''Minoic culture." This must be considered the root from which the 

 later Mycenian culture sprang. 



I convinced myself in 1909 by examinations made on the spot 

 that the Minoic bone remains and pictm'es embrace the most im- 

 portant domesticated animals of Europe. 



Old Crete, indeed, formed a stepping-stone over which most of the 

 domestic animals of Asia and Africa passed to reach the mainland 

 of Europe. The geogTaphic position of Crete was exceedingly well 

 suited to play this intermediary role, for in the first place this 

 island lies equidistant from the three contments, and, besides, it 

 possessed a considerable navy even at the time of Minos, whose ships 

 were in close touch mth the east and south. Even as far back as 

 3000 B. C. a decided cultm'al influence from Egypt affected this 

 large island of the Aegean Sea, while the Asiatic influence was still 

 scarcely recognizable. Painting and sculpture show remarkable 

 progress at an early period, of which the animal representations 

 possess an especial interest to us. Bone finds also are not absent, 

 and these documents furnish us with valuable data concerning the 

 trend taken by wanderings of the domestic animals. 



Crete was, even dming the neolithio cultiu*e period, a prominent 

 center; for example, the neolithic deposits in Knossos, attained the 

 size of 6 meters or more. In these I was able to demonstrate re- 

 mains of the peat sheep, the peat pig, and peat cattle. These races, 

 therefore, have undoubtedl}' been transmitted to us over Crete. 



