THE PEDIGREE OF THE DOG 203 
by crossing with the original stock, and several of them 
may be comparatively modern. Such breeds throw no 
light on the origin of the more specialised domesticated 
breeds, such as mastiffs, spaniels, hounds, and terriers, all 
of which are quite unlike any wild species, and have 
evidently undergone a long course of modification, dating 
back in some cases for hundreds if not thousands of years. 
To trace the pedigree of such breeds is probably quite 
impossible, although the investigations of archaeologists 
and palaeontologists are most important in proving the 
extreme antiquity of the domestication of the dog. Ancient 
monuments show that at a very early period domesticated 
dogs were differentiated into two very distinct breeds— 
namely, those which hunt by scent like hounds, and 
those which, like greyhounds, depend upon sight in the 
chase; and when once these were established further 
modifications would doubtless have soon arisen if attention 
was paid to breeding. Many of these breeds and strains 
were doubtless produced by crossing those derived from 
different wild species, by which means all trace of the 
original ancestry would gradually have been lost. 
In the Roman period not only were sight-hounds and 
scent-hounds fully differentiated, but there were also various 
kinds of lap-dogs and house-dogs, although none quite like 
our modern breeds. Even as far back as about 3000 B.c. 
Egyptian frescoes show not only greyhound-like breeds, 
but one with drooping ears like a hound, and a third 
which has been compared to the modern turnspit; while 
house-dogs and lap-dogs came in soon afterwards. Whether 
any of these are the direct ancestors of modern breeds, or 
whether ail such have been produced by subsequent cross- 
ing, is a very difficult question to answer, more especially 
when we recollect that if an ancient Egyptian artist had 
