Timeline: Domestication of Sheep

The beginning of agriculture in the Middle East.

Sheep were first domesticated in Central Asia. Sheep were the first animal we domesticated for meat.

In 4000 BC, people wore wool clothing in Babylon (otherwise known as the Land of Wool). This was around the time when people spun wool on drop spindles.

Sheep found their way to the British Isles.

Before the spinning wheel people spun fibers by hand. Inventors only mechanized this process to make it easier to create.

In the 1400s, Queen Isabella of Spain used money from wool production to fund conquistadors expeditions (such as Columbus).

On his second voyage to the New World, Columbus brought sheep with him. He left them in Cuba and in Santo Domingo.

During the 16th and 17th century, England refused to export sheep to America and banned it so England would keep America dependent upon England. This didn't stop American colonists from smuggling sheep into the United States and starting their own wool industry.

In approximately 1519 AD, Hernan Cortes began his exploration of Mexico and western America. He took sheep with him that were offspring of Columbus's sheep. These sheep are believed to be descendents of a breed of sheep called Churros (the oldest sheep in America). They traveled all the way over to the southwest and became part of the Navajo culture. Which is why the sheep are called Navajo Churros.

During this amount of time, America had extended their wool production and trade. England became so outraged that they outlawed the trade of wool and the raising of sheep, the punishment would be chopping off someone's right hand. These rules started the American revolution and people often wore homespun wool garments to protest against England. Even after the war, England banned the export of any sheep except for wethers.