We thus see that, at a period between four and five thousand years ago,
various breeds, viz. pariah dogs, greyhounds, common hounds, mastiffs,
house-dogs, lapdogs, and turnspits, existed, more or less closely
resembling our present breeds. But there is not sufficient evidence that
any of these ancient dogs belonged to the same identical sub-varieties with
our present dogs. (1/7. Berjeau gives facsimiles of the Egyptian drawings.
Mr. C.L. Martin in his 'History of the Dog' 1845 copies several figures
from the Egyptian monuments, and speaks with much confidence with respect
to their identity with still living dogs. Messrs. Nott and Gliddon ('Types
of Mankind' 1854 page 388) give still more numerous figures. Mr. Gliddon
asserts that a curl-tailed greyhound, like that represented on the most
ancient monuments, is common in Borneo; but the Rajah, Sir J. Brooke,
informs me that no such dog exists there.) As long as man was believed to
have existed on this earth only about 6000 years, this fact of the great
diversity of the breeds at so early a period was an argument of much weight
that they had proceeded from several wild sources, for there would not have
been sufficient time for their divergence and modification. But now that we
know, from the discovery of flint tools embedded with the remains of
extinct animals in districts which have since undergone great geographical
changes, that man has existed for an incomparably longer period, and
bearing in mind that the most barbarous nations possess domestic dogs, the
argument from insufficient time falls away greatly in value.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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