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Maltese Origin
by Larry Stanberry
Although the exact origins of the breed are still debated today the fact
remains that Darwin, himself, the Father of the Theory of Evolution, placed
it at about 6000 B.C. - eight thousand years ago !!! The Maltese decended
from a Spitz-like dog which was then bred for hunting in the marsh and
wooded areas of Southern Europe. Eventually, the dog was carried southward
into the Mediterranean Sea area and also into the Far East. Historical
evidence leads one to believe that the Maltese may well have been introduced
into the gene pools of the Lhasa Apso, the Tibetan Terrier, the Tibetan
Spaniel, and even the Pekingese - helping to shape the eventual evolution of
these truly ancient breeds of dogs. Hard acheological evidence places the
Maltese in a prominent place in Egyptian culture around 300 to 600 B.C.
where they were virtually worshipped as members of the royal families.
Maltese images were found on Greek vases dated around 500 B.C. and the first
known written history of the breed was actually authored by the Greek
philosopher Aristotle around 350 B.C., where he attributed the origin of the
breed to the Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea - hence the name
"Maltese". The origin of the Maltese has also been attributed by other
historians to the Italian town of "Melitae", which could have also given
rise to "Maltese" for a breed name. Through time the Maltese has been
labeled with many names - as the "Melitae Dog"; as "Ye Ancient Dogge of
Malta"; as "The Roman Ladies' Dog"; as well as being called the "Comforter";
the "Spaniel Gentle"; and the "Bichon" (not to be confused with the modern
breed, the Bichon Frise, which may also have been developed partly from the
Maltese). The Breed has also been known as "The Shock Dog"; the "Maltese
Lion Dog"; and more recently as "The Maltese Terrier" before it simply
became shortened to the "Maltese".
Most of this information came from my own investigation into the History and
Evolution of the breed - particularly from a book by Nick Cutillo titled THE
COMPLETE MALTESE
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