THE SHEEP AND ITS 

 COUSINS 



CHAPTER I 



THE EARLY HISTORY AND NAMES OF THE 

 SHEEP 



The sheep, as typified by the domesticated breeds, 

 to the European representatives of which Linnseus 

 gave the name Ovis aries, was probably one of the 

 earliest animals to be brought under subjugation 

 by man. It is known, for instance, to have been 

 domesticated by the inhabitants of the Prehistoric 

 lake-dwellings, or Pfahlbauten, of Switzerland, by 

 whom it appears to have been brought from the 

 East : it is also depicted among the earliest of the 

 Egyptian monuments, and its remains were mummi- 

 fied by the inhabitants of the Delta during the 

 Pharaonic epoch, by which date, as detailed in a 

 later chapter, there is evidence that two distinct 

 breeds had already been differentiated. The 

 Biblical record indicates the importance of sheep 

 to the ancient Hebrews, and also teaches that 



A 



