204 MOSTLY MAMMALS 



to draw the portrait of a modern dog it would be very 

 doubtful whether it would be recognised by its master or 

 mistress. 



But the record of the antiquity of domesticated dogs 

 does not even stop with the earliest known Egyptian 

 monuments. Not only were such breeds known in Europe 

 during the Iron and Bronze Ages, but also during the 

 antecedent Neolithic or polished stone period. These have 

 been described by the late Prof. Riitimeyer and Dr. 

 Woldrich; and those who are acquainted with the diffi- 

 culty of distinguishing between some of the living species 

 by their skulls alone will understand the laborious nature 

 of the task. Still, these authorities appear to have made 

 out that the Swiss Neolithic dog (Cants palustris) had 

 certain cranial resemblances to both hounds and spaniels, 

 and thus indicated an advanced type, which is considered 

 to have been derived from neither wolves nor jackals, but 

 from some species now extinct. Certain other breeds have 

 also been recognised from the superficial deposits of the 

 Continent ; and if, as is very likely to be the case, any 

 or all of these races are the forerunners of some of the 

 modern breeds, it will readily be understood how complex 

 is the origin of the mixed group which we now call Cants 

 familiaris. Even in South America there is evidence of the 

 great antiquity of domesticated dogs, for I have described 

 a skull from the superficial deposits of Buenos Aires, 

 which, though apparently contemporaneous with many of 

 the wonderful extinct mammals of the Pampas, yet shows 

 unmistakable signs of affinity with domesticated breeds, 

 although the precise relationship has not yet been estab- 

 lished. 



Perhaps, however, the greatest puzzle in the group is 

 the dingo, or native dog of Australia, which has been 



