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Have Sheep Evolved From Ancient Times Till Now?
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“All sheep now look different because of when and how they were bred, but they are all related. (History of Domestic Sheep)”
— Helen
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How Have Sheep Evolved from Ancient Times to Now?By: Helen
The history of domestic sheep begins between 11000 and 9000 BCE. Sheep were the first animals to be domesticated by humans. There is evidence of sheep farming in Iranian statuary, where Iran’s statues are found. This animal has changed a lot overtime. Mainly because of what people did with sheep, which was to breed them for wool (History of Domestic Sheep). This goes into the idea of selective breeding. This is when two different breeds are chosen to create a different breed together. At this moment there are 2000 breeds of sheep [Ovis aries].
It is not completely clear who the wild ancestor of a sheep is. It is believed that the Mouflon [Ovis orientalis] is the wild ancestor. Since it has similar features and attitude as a domesticated sheep (History of Domestic Sheep). When ancient sheep changed into domestic sheep it was considered to be the Transition Period (History of Sheep Breeds). At that time there were several subspecies of the Mouflon that were hauled down from mountains, to be bred (Pallardy). The difference between the ancient sheep and the domesticated sheep is the techniques by which wool is collected. It was also known that the “Soay along with other Northern European breeds with short tails, naturally rooing fleece, diminutive size, and horns in both sexes, are closely related to ancient sheep.” All sheep now look different because of when and how they were bred, but they all are related (History of Domestic Sheep).
Soay Breeds
In Iran “Woolly sheep began to be developed around 6000 BCE. Cultures such as the Persians relied on sheep’s wool for trading” (History of Domestic Sheep). At the time there were 59 specimens of wild Ovis that were collected by 8 localities in Iran that were possibly trying to use the specimens for breeding of sheep. Even pregnant sheep were examined for hybrid population then. Over time the number of chromosomes in some sheep have changed as well as the sizes of their hooves. The only thing that didn't change at the time was the size/type of horns. These were different in different areas of Iran (Valdez 56). Ancient sheep originally started existing in Iran. Then they started to spread from northern Turkey and Northern Iran, to Europe and Asia (History of Sheep Breeds). In the end sheep
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have evolved a lot from ancient times to now. Even though there are still some really old breeds that exist, which then leaves room for changes in sheep now to the future.
_____Helen_____
Image Citations
"Mouflon - WildLife Partners, LLCWildLife 21 May. 2020.
Partners, LLC." https://wildlifepartners.com/species/mouflon/. Accessed
"Facts About Sheep | Live Science." 11 Nov. 2015, https://www.livescience.com/52755-sheep-facts.html. Accessed 21 May. 2020.
"Soay sheep | The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep ...." https://www.flickr.com/photos/53555654@N00/28912974918. Accessed 21 May. 2020.
Website Citations
"History of the domestic sheep - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep. Accessed 19 May. 2020.
Valdez, Raul, et al. “Evolution of Wild Sheep in Iran.” Evolution, vol. 32, no. 1, 1978, pp. 56–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2407410. Accessed 19 May 2020.
"6 Domestic Animals and Their Wild Ancestors | Britannica." https://www.britannica.com/list/6-domestic-animals-and-their-wild-ancestors. Accessed 19 May. 2020.
"History of Sheep Breeds: Part 1 of 2 - YouTube." 28 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9VjRZNgioQ. Accessed 19 May. 2020.
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