Man began to breed sheep many hundreds of years ago, and today sheep breeding is one of the most common types of farming, providing people with meat, wool and milk. But modern domestic sheep were obtained as a result of the domestication of wild varieties of these artiodactyls, which still live on the planet in their natural habitat. More details about the history of domestication of sheep, as well as a description of the alleged wild ancestors of these animals and the main theories of their origin – later in the article.
History of domestication
Sheep are one of the oldest animals that were domesticated by man. They were bred in the Neolithic era about 8-12 thousand years ago, and in ancient Egypt domestic sheep were known for 3000 BC. e., as evidenced by the images found on the walls of the grave monuments of the dynasties of the pharaohs. Babylonian priests used sheep in sacrificial rituals to the gods in 2000 BC. e., and for 1300 years BC. e. world-famous fabrics and shawls were made from animal hair.
Did you know? China is the leader in breeding domestic sheep – more than 144 million of these animals are grown here annually.
Ancient sheep had a short tail, and a long-tailed variety was obtained in Persia, Syria and Armenia. The first mention of this is contained in the writings of Herodotus and Aristotle, written in 300–400 BC. e., and the resulting variety of animals in external characteristics resembled modern Tsigai sheep. Later they came to the territory of Europe, Asia and Africa, where they became the ancestors for modern breeds.
Subspecies with thin and long white wool became widespread in the territories of Greece, Spain and Italy, and modern Merino breeds were already obtained from them.
On the territory of Europe, farmers were originally engaged in sheep breeding only for the purpose of obtaining rough sheepskins and meat. But in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, enterprises for the production of sheep cloth existed on the territory of Flanders and Friesland, and at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, animals began to be massively bred in England, refusing to use the wool of Spanish sheep.
From the XNUMXth century, English and French farmers began to improve the performance and characteristics of coarse-wooled sheep, producing many of the new breeds that are known today.
The origin of domestic sheep, their ancestors
The first breeds of domestic sheep were obtained from wild varieties of animals, but it has not yet been possible to establish their ancestor exactly. There are many wild breeds of sheep that are similar to their domesticated relatives in appearance and productivity, but the mouflon, argali and argali are most commonly identified as the ancestors of modern cultivated varieties. More details about each of these types – later in the article.
wild mouflon
This animal species includes two subspecies – European mouflons and Asian wild mouflons (arkals).
Important! Mouflon wool is highly valued, and their powerful curved horns have become a desirable trophy for many hunters, so some species of these animals are on the verge of extinction.
Brief description of the animals:
- The body of the mouflon reaches a height of 90–95 cm, and its length is 131–150 cm.
- Outside, the massive body of the sheep is covered with short wool, which changes color depending on the season – in summer it has a reddish tone, and by the onset of cold weather it becomes darker.
- A characteristic feature of the mouflon is a long black stripe running along the back. The lower part of the body, hooves and nose of animals are fawn shades.
- A sexually mature male reaches 50–80 kg, whose body weight depends on the size of the horns. Females are much lighter – from 30 to 45 kg.
- The head of adult rams is decorated with large horns, twisted back or to the sides. The diameter of the base of bone formations can reach 30 cm, and with each year of a ram’s life, one ring-shaped growth forms on them. Sheep are polled or have small horns.
- Reproductive age in females occurs at 2 years. For one pregnancy, which lasts 5 months, a sheep can reproduce 1-2 lambs.
- The life expectancy of animals is about 15 years.
Archar
This type of wild sheep was actively exterminated by hunters, therefore it is listed in the Red Book. Argali are the largest variety of mountain sheep, they have an attractive exterior, proud posture and massive horns.
A brief description of argali is presented below:
- The height of adults is 95–125 cm, and the body length reaches 1,2–2 m. Females are smaller than males.
- Animals are characterized by a slender body, which looks shortened, and a wide, developed chest. The coat is dyed sandy yellow or brown, and darkens in winter.
- All adults have a white spot on the lower back. The belly, muzzle and inner thighs are also painted white.
- The mass of a ram depends on the size of the horns and is 110–170 kg, but can reach 200 kg. Females gain weight of 60–100 kg.
- Rams have large, spiral horns, which can be up to 2 m long and weigh up to 0,50 q. In females, the horns are crescent-shaped and slightly bent back, and their total length is from 5 to 60 cm. Sometimes there are hornless representatives of the species.
- Argali females enter sexual maturity at the age of 2-3 years, and males – at 4-5 years. Pregnancy lasts for 150-160 days, and each sheep gives birth to 1 lamb weighing up to 4 kg.
- The average lifespan of argali in their natural habitat is 10–13 years, while in zoos they can live up to 18 years.
Argali
The second name of these animals is Altai mountain sheep. They are one of the subspecies of argali and have very heavy horns, which have a beautiful shape and massive size.
A brief description of the argali is given below:
- The height of the individual at the withers is 70–125 cm with a body length of about 1,2–2 m, and males are larger than females.
- The body of the argali is squat and is located on thin limbs with great strength. The coat of animals can have a different color, which varies from light yellow to dark brown.
- On the sides of the body of the animal there are long stripes of a brownish hue, which visually separate the upper part of the body from the lower. The muzzle and belly are painted in lighter colors than the back, and on the neck of males there is a ring of light wool.
- The mass of an adult argali ram can reach 180–200 kg, and females gain weight from 70 to 100 kg.
- The horns of the animals are bent back and twisted in the form of a spiral, and their length can reach 151 cm with a maximum diameter of 55 cm at the base. The mass of argali ram horns can reach 25–35 kg. Females have smaller horns.
- Argali reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 years, but males begin to actively breed only after they reach 5 years of age. For one pregnancy lasting 5 months, the female reproduces 1-2 cubs.
- Animals live about 12-18 years.
Habitat of wild ancestors
All of the listed wild ancestors of domestic sheep live in mountainous areas. At the same time, for the winter they often go down to the valleys and to the foothills of the mountains, and spend the summer on the slopes, feeding on the vegetation growing there.
The habitat of these animals is described below:
- mouflon is distributed mainly in the mountains on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea – in Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus, as well as in Iraq and Armenia;
- argali live in Central Asia, are found on the territory of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and also live in the foothills of the Himalayas, Nepal, Tibet, Palmyra and the Tien Shan Range;
- argali can be found in the range of mountain ranges and ranges of the South-East Altai, East Kazakhstan, Mongolia and South-Western Tuva.
Important! As a result of experiments on crossing representatives of wild breeds with domestic varieties of sheep, healthy and viable offspring were obtained, which confirms the high probability of relationship between animals.
Theories of origin
Due to the fact that it has not yet been possible to unequivocally establish the true ancestor of all domestic sheep, there are two main theories of the origin of these animals. None of them can be recognized as true or false, since domestic sheep are outwardly similar to the alleged wild ancestors, but differ from them in body structure and some other features.
A summary of the main theories on the origin of domestic sheep is presented below:
- monophyletic theory claims that all breeds of domestic sheep descended from one ancestor – the wild mouflon, and all differences in body type and appearance of wool are the result of selection work, and are also associated with a partial change in the habitat of domestic sheep;
- polyphilic theory contains the assumption that domestic sheep originated from several different species of wild animals, namely from argali and argali, due to which modern breeds of domestic sheep differ from each other in appearance and productive qualities.
Did you know? The long and strong hooves of argali help them move easily on mountainous slopes and run fast, reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h.
Adherents of various theories disagree about the exact origin of domestic sheep. Representatives of modern cultivated breeds of these animals have much in common with their wild counterparts, but surpass them in terms of productivity and wool quality. This result was obtained as a result of many years of selection carried out by scientists from different countries.
