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Hello to All: This is a thought I've been pondering of late, and wondered if anyone would be able to comment or provide a reference: Which ancient societies knew how to maintain or initiate distinctness in strains of domestic livestock -- cattle, sheep, hogs, dogs, chickens, goats? I am not querying here the ORIGIN of domestication, or the act of domestication per se. What I am specifically thinking of is the Romans -- they have been given credit for developing the Merino sheep. And I also know that wherever they conquered a region, if they found there some strain of domestic animal that they admired or thought useful, they knew how to maintain the distinctness, i.e. by sequestering females in heat and/or by castration of males or by physically controlling the breeding activities of males. But obviously, if the Romans conquered a country and found the strain already in existence (for example the Maltese dog), then the people of Malta must themselves already have known how to produce such a dog through the process of selective breeding. Can anyone guide me to literature on this subject? Any thoughts will be welcome! Thanks in advance -- Deb Bennett