ABSTRACT
Pastoral traditions arose simultaneously with agriculture in the Near East. Although dogs had hunted together with humans for thousands of years, the domestication of sheep, about 9000 BCE, provided the first herd animals. Cattle and goats were domesticated later, and spread through much of the Middle East and North Africa. The use of dairy products began around 6000 BCE, and usually involved some form of processing to make cheese, yogurt, and butter, rather than the consumption of raw milk. Livestock also contributed to agriculture by drawing plows and providing fertilizer, but the competition between pasture and farmland led to cultural differentiation between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. Pigs became the preferred source of meat in cities because they reproduced quickly and ate garbage. Pastoral peoples such as the Hebrews considered them to be filthy animals unfit for human consumption.
