Figure 1.-- Here we see a goat pulling a milk cart. In Europe atthev time this was more common for large dogs. Milk carts were small and thus within the pulling power of dogs and goats. Here we see a milk seller (vendador de leche)min Cuba around the turn of the 20th century.

Goats are another herding species that has been domesticated. Goats were primarily livestock raised for milk and meat, amd to a lesser exrent their fleece. They are belivsd to have been domesticated in Anatolia and the Zagros Mountains (western Iran) anout 7500 BC. This was about the time that the Agricultural Revolution had begun in nearby Mesopotamia. Goats were not just domesticated once by a single community, but by several diifferent communities around the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia from the eastern Mediterranean following the Fertile Cresent the outlet og the Thiris and Euphrates into the Persian Gulf. The primary species domesticated was Capra aegagrus, butThere are genetic traces of severl wild goat species in the modern goat. This adds support for the idea that many different communities were involved over time. While primarily livestock, goats have been used in other ways. The utility of the goat is limited by its small size. We note them being used in the 19th and early century to pull children's carts. This was at a time when horses were commonly used for pulling carriages and waggons. Thus the children werefamikiar wuth animal dtawn conveyances. And the gentle bature of goats made them safe for children. They also were used to pull small carts such as milk carts. The relatively small size of goats meant this was not very common.

Created: 6:15 PM 1/28/20205
Last updated: 6:15 PM 1/28/2020