The existence of a single race, remarkably constant in form during
the whole Neolithic period, is an interesting fact in contrast with
what we see of the changes which the races underwent during the
period of the successive Egyptian monuments, and in contrast with
our existing dogs. The character of this animal during the
Neolithic period, as given by Rütimeyer, supports De Blainville’s
view that our varieties have descended from an unknown and extinct
form. But we should not forget that we know nothing with respect to
the antiquity of man in the warmer parts of the world. The
succession of the different kinds of dogs in Switzerland and
Denmark is thought to be due to the immigration of conquering
tribes bringing with them their dogs; and this view accords with
the belief that different wild canine animals were domesticated in
different regions. Independently of the immigration of new races of
man, we know from the wide-spread presence of bronze, composed of
an alloy of tin, how much commerce there must have been throughout
Europe at an extremely remote period, and dogs would then probably
have been bartered. At the present time, amongst the savages of the
interior of Guiana, the Taruma Indians are considered the best
trainers of dogs, and possess a large breed which they barter at a
high price with other tribes.[11]
The main argument in favour of the several breeds of the dog being
the descendants of distinct wild stocks, is their resemblance in
various countries to distinct species still existing there. It
must, however, be admitted that the comparison between the wild and
domesticated animal has been made but in few cases with sufficient
exactness. Before entering on details, it will be well to show that
there is no a priori difficulty in the belief that several canine
species have been domesticated. Members of the dog family inhabit
nearly the whole world; and several species agree pretty closely in
habits and structure with our several domesticated dogs. Mr. Galton
has shown[12] how fond savages are of keeping and taming animals of
all kinds. Social animals are the most easily subjugated by man,
and several species of Canidæ hunt in packs. It deserves notice, as
bearing on other animals as well as on the dog, that at an
extremely ancient period, when man first entered any country, the
animals living there would have felt no instinctive or inherited
fear of him, and would consequently have been tamed far more easily
than at present. For instance, when the Falkland Islands were first
visited by man, the large wolf-like dog (_Canis antarcticus_)
fearlessly came to meet Byron’s sailors, who, mistaking this
ignorant curiosity for ferocity, ran into the water to avoid them:
even recently a man, by holding a piece of meat in one hand and a
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