Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Domestication of Sheep

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sometime around 9 to 11,000 years ago, somewhere in the Middle East or Central Asia, someone figured out how they could keep wild sheep and breed them. This simple act had enormous consequences for humanity. It improved food production, revolutionized the production of clothing, and even influenced the development of writing. Fast forward over 10,000 years, and sheep are still a significant part of the economies of several nations. Learn more about the domestication of sheep and how it changed human civilization on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Starting point is 00:01:15 And remember, stay safe. Sometime about 11,000 years ago, there was a revolution that forever changed humanity. That date of 11,000 years ago should sound familiar to anyone who's listened to this podcast for a while. That was the period at the end of the last Ice Age when agriculture, animal domestication, and civilization as we know it, began to arise. It's far enough in the past that we don't know many details about where these innovations developed, but we do have a rough idea based on archaeological evidence. It's believed that the first animals that were domesticated as livestock were actually goats. The first goats were probably domesticated around 10 to 11,000 years ago in the Zargoos Mountains of Iran.

Starting point is 00:02:02 Goats are fundamentally different than sheep in that they are browsers rather than grazers, meaning that they can eat trubs, leaves, and rough vegetation. This made them more adaptable to hilly or ery terrain. They were hardy, could survive on poor forage, and were excellent milk animals providing a steady protein source. The domestication of sheep probably came several centuries after the domestication of goats and before the domestication of cattle. Sheep were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent,

Starting point is 00:02:32 the land arc that stretches between modern-day Iraq and Syria into southeastern Turkey and western Iran, somewhere around 9 to 11,000 years ago. The primary ancestor of our modern domestic sheep was the Muflan, scientific name Ovis Orientalis, a hearty agile animal with impressive curved horns and a coarse brownish coat. These wild sheep were well adapted to rocky terrain and had keen survival instincts that made them wary of predators, including early humans. As with other animal domestications that I've covered in previous episodes, this wasn't a sudden event, but rather a gradual process that unfolded over many generations.

Starting point is 00:03:13 From a behavioral perspective, early humans likely didn't set out with any grand plan to domesticate sheep. Instead, the process probably began with opportunistic hunting and gradual behavioral changes by both sheep and humans. Early pastoral peoples may have followed wild sheep herds, learning their and perhaps beginning to protect them from other predators, or they guided them towards better grazing areas. Over time, the sheep that were less fearful of humans, those with slightly more docile temperaments, would have been more likely to benefit from the relationship. Meanwhile, the humans who were better at managing and predicting sheep behavior would have been more successful as well. This created what scientists call co-evolution, with both species

Starting point is 00:03:59 gradually changing in response to their relationship with each other. As this partnership deepened over the centuries, remarkable physical and behavioral changes began to appear in the sheep populations. This is where we can see the clear biological markers of domestication. In understanding these changes helps us appreciate just how profound this transformation was. The most obvious changes were physical. Domestic sheep developed smaller bodies compared to their wild ancestors, a phenomenon called neotony. In other words, the retention of juvenile characteristics into adulthood. Their skulls became smaller, their faces shortened, and their brain size decreased.

Starting point is 00:04:38 The impressive curved horns of wild sheep either became smaller or disappeared entirely in many breeds. At first, domesticated sheep were valued primarily for their meat, hide, and bones. Their milk may have been exploited as well, but this required technological and cultural adaptations. Early sheep likely retained the coarse hair of their wild ancestors, so their hides were used more for leather than for wool. Perhaps the most economically important change was in their coats. Wild sheep had coarse outer hair with only a small undercoat of soft fibers. Through selective breeding, whether intentional or not, early shepherds gradually developed sheep with much thicker, softer fleeces.

Starting point is 00:05:21 This transformation was revolutionary because it gave humans access to a renewable source of warm, workable fiber. Wool. wool was in many ways superior to other materials for clothing because its crimped fibers trapped air providing excellent insulation against the cold while still remaining breathable. And it could absorb large amounts of moisture without feeling wet, making it comfortable in various climates. Unlike hides or furs, which required killing the animal, wool was renewable and could be harvested

Starting point is 00:05:54 year after year. Unlike linen or hemp, which produced stiffer, less elastic fabrics, Wool was naturally springy, resilient, and easy to spin and weave. It also took dyes really well, allowing for colorful, durable garments, which made it more versatile and practical than other textiles available in the ancient world. From the fertile crescent, domestic sheep spread with remarkable speed across the ancient world. By 7,000 years ago, they had reached Europe, and by 5,000 years ago they were established across much of Asia and North Africa. This spread wasn't just about the animals themselves. It represented the movement of entire pastoral communities.

Starting point is 00:06:35 Pastoral nomadism became possible where entire communities could just follow their flocks across vast landscapes, utilizing grazing lands that were unsuitable for crop agriculture. These pastoral societies became the bridges between settled agricultural communities, facilitating trade, cultural exchange, and the spread of technologies across entire country. entire continents. The integration of sheep into human society went far beyond simple resource extraction. Sheep became central to religious practices, social structures, and economic systems. In many ancient cultures, wealth was measured in livestock, and sheep were often used as currency or valuable trade goods. As sheep domestication matured, it drove innovations in

Starting point is 00:07:20 multiple areas. The development of wool processing created entirely new categories of technology and craftsmanship, such as cleaning, combing, spinning, and weaving. Sheep's skin was also highly prized. For thousands of years, sheepskin coats, cloaks, and boots were valued in cold climates. The fleece side provided insulation while the leather side offered durability. Nomadic step cultures, such as the Scythians and later nomads in Central Asia, made extensive use of sheepskin for clothing and bedding. In Europe, sheepskin-line cloaks were common amongst peasants and shepherds.

Starting point is 00:07:55 The softness of sheepskin also made it a preferred material for infant swaddling. When processed by tanning, sheepskin produced a supple, lightweight leather that was easier to work with than cowhide. It became widely used for gloves, shoes, pouches, book bindings, and later fine goods like wallets or cases. Although not as durable as cowhide, it had the advantage of softness and pliability, making it ideal for garments. One of sheepskin's most influential historical uses was as a medium for writing. From at least the second millennium BC, and especially in Greco-Roman antiquity in the Middle Ages, sheepskin was processed into parchment. Thin sheepskin parchment was abundant and cheaper than calf-velam, making it the most common

Starting point is 00:08:40 writing surface for manuscripts in Europe. Many medieval charters, legal documents, and religious texts were all written on sheepskin. Its fibrous structure made it more resistant to erasure and alteration than paper, which is one of the reasons important legal deeds in Britain continued to be recorded on sheepskin vellum well into the modern era. Sheepskins also had a symbolic value. In ancient Greece, the mythological golden fleece symbolized authority in kingship, reflecting the animal's central role in agrarian economies.

Starting point is 00:09:12 As an interesting aside, the golden fleece was actually a thing. Some rivers in the Caucasus had flecks of gold that would travel downstream. By placing a sheepskin with wool in the river, the fibers in the wool would catch flex of gold. And this is a technique that actually goes back thousands of years. During the Middle Ages in Europe, sheep became increasingly associated with wealth and economic power. In particular, wool production in England and the low countries fueled trade and the rise of entire towns. The Spanish developed highly prized fine wool breed such as Marino, which remained tightly controlled until the 18th century when smuggling and trade spread merino genetics worldwide.

Starting point is 00:09:56 With European exploration and colonization, sheep were brought to the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. In these new lands, vast sheep ranching industries developed, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, where sheep farming became a dominant economic sector. Sheep also adapted to environments as varied as the Patagonian Stepp and the American Southwest. Oddly enough, while Australia and New Zealand developed large sheep ranching industries, it never really took off in the United States and Canada, despite having land that lent itself to sheep grazing. Much of the American West, particularly the Great Plains, offered enormous expanses of grasslands

Starting point is 00:10:34 that were well suited to grazing cattle. sheep could and did thrive in many regions, especially in the arid southwest and the Rocky Mountain foothills, but cattle were better suited to the tall grass prairies and open ranges where forage was abundant. The scale of land available allowed ranchers to raise large herds of cattle in ways that mirrored the open-range traditions of Spain and Mexico. The growing American population in the 19th century demanded beef more than mutton or lamb. Beef became a dietary staple, while mutton never really caught on culturally with most Americans, who considered it tough and strongly flavored compared to pork or beef.

Starting point is 00:11:13 In the 19th century American West, range wars often broke out between cattle ranchers and sheep herders. Cattlemen argued that sheep cropped grass too close to the ground, leaving pastures barren, while cattle grazing left grass that could regrow. These conflicts sometimes turned violent, and in many places, sheep ranchers were pushed out of prime grazing lands. Local and state politics, which were dominated by cattle interests, often sided with ranchers, tilting the balance against sheep. Wool was undoubtedly important, especially during the Civil War and World War I, when the military

Starting point is 00:11:47 required uniforms. Still, it never commanded the same consistent demand in everyday civilian life as beef and hides. The sheep and wool industry today is a global but unevenly distributed enterprise, which is shaped by thousands of years of breeding, shifting textile markets, and reiches. traditions. There are currently about 1.2 billion sheep worldwide with the largest populations in China, Australia, India, Sudan, and Iran. China is now the single largest producer of both sheep meat and wool, reflecting its massive scale of livestock farming. Australia and New Zealand, though much smaller and absolute flock size, dominate the fine wool market, particularly the merino

Starting point is 00:12:29 breed, which produces the highest quality fibers for luxury textiles. The Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia continue to maintain large sheep populations, but usually for meat and milk rather than wool. In Europe, sheep are still widely raised in Spain, the UK, and Eastern Europe, though the herds are far smaller than in centuries past. Wool accounts for less than 2% of global fiber production today, dwarfed by cotton and synthetics like polyester. Nevertheless, it remains an important niche material because of its unique properties.

Starting point is 00:13:04 It's warm, breathable, naturally fire-resistant, odor-resistant, and biodegradable. In many regions, sheep are now valued less for wool and more for meat and dairy products. Sheep's milk is used to produce high-value cheeses, such as roquefort from France, Manchego from Spain, Pecorino-Ramano from Italy, and fetta from Greece, which often provide much greater profit margins than wool. As a result, many modern sheep breeds are dual purpose, producing both milk and some wool rather than specializing solely in fiber. Today, there are over 1,000 recognized breeds of domestic sheep worldwide, making them one of the most diverse domesticated animal species on the planet.

Starting point is 00:13:48 All of the wool, mutton, lamb, and sheep cheese produced in the world today, and the 1,000 domesticated breeds that exist are all the direct legacy of the original shepherds who cozied up to wild sheep somewhere in the fertile crescent almost 10,000 years ago. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon. Your support helps make this podcast possible. And I also want to remind everyone about the community groups on Facebook and Discord. That's where everything happens that's outside the podcast. And links to those are available in the show notes. As always, if you leave a

Starting point is 00:14:32 review on any major podcast app or in the above community groups, you two can have it read in the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Domestication of Sheep

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