Editing Greyhound (section)

===Origins===
"The true origin of the greyhound is unsure, but drawings of findings from the [[Çatalhöyük]] site in Turkey (6000 BC), the finding of a greyhound-''like'' dog in a funeral vase in the town of Fusa in [[Iran]] (4200 BC) or in rock art in [[Tassili n'Ajjer|Tassili]] (dated at 5000 – 2000 BC) indicate that the greyhound is indeed one of the oldest breeds of dog.".<ref name="remains">SVOBODOVÁ, H., BARTOŠ, M., NÝVLTOVÁ FIŠÁKOVÁ, M. and KOUŘIL, P., (2015). Genetic analysis of possibly the oldest greyhound remains within the territory of the Czech Republic as a proof of a local elite presence at Chotěbuz-Podobora hillfort in the 8th–9th century AD. SbNM B, 71, pp.17-24.
[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Miriam_Nyvltova_Fisakova/publication/283696817_Genetic_analysis_of_possibly_the_oldest_greyhound_remains_within_the_territory_of_the_Czech_Republic_as_a_proof_of_a_local_elite_presence_at_Hotebuz-Podobora_hillfort_in_the_8th-9th_century_AD/links/5677cf1908ae0ad265c7ed29/Genetic-analysis-of-possibly-the-oldest-greyhound-remains-within-the-territory-of-the-Czech-Republic-as-a-proof-of-a-local-elite-presence-at-Hotebuz-Podobora-hillfort-in-the-8th-9th-century-AD.pdf]</ref>

The ancient skeletal remains of a dog identified as being of the greyhound/[[saluki]] form were excavated at [[Tell Brak]] in modern Syria, and dated as being approximately 4,000 years old.<ref>Clutton-Brock, J., 1989. A dog and a donkey excavated at Tell Brak. ''Iraq'', 51, pp.217-224.</ref><ref>Structured Deposition of Animal Remains in the Fertile Crescent during the Bronze Age, José Luis Ramos Soldado, Archaeopress, 2016, p12, {{ISBN|9781784912697}}</ref> Dogs that look similar to Salukis and Greyhounds were increasingly depicted on Egyptian tombs from the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] (2134 BC–1785 BC) onward.<ref name="royalhunt">{{cite book |author-link1=Thomas T. Allsen |last=Allsen |first=Thomas T. |title=The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History |date=2006 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-3926-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6V9MtZT6go0C&q=saluki&pg=PA55 |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=7 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107232958/https://books.google.com/books?id=6V9MtZT6go0C&q=saluki&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Historical literature by [[Arrian]] on the vertragus (from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|vertragus}}, a word of Celtic origin),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Arrian|last2=Dansey|first2=W.|title=Arrian on coursing : the Cynegeticus of the younger Xenophon, translated from the Greek, with classical and practical annotations, and a brief sketch of the life and writings of the author. To which is added an appendix, containing some account of the Canes venatici of classical antiquity|publisher=Bohne|year=1831|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arrianoncoursing00arri/page/74 74]|url=https://archive.org/details/arrianoncoursing00arri|author1-link=Arrian}}</ref> the first recorded sighthound in Europe and possible antecedent of the Greyhound, suggested that its origin lies with the [[Celts]] from Eastern Europe or Eurasia. Systematic archaeozoology of Britain conducted in 1974<ref>Harcourt, R.A., 1974. The dog in prehistoric and early historic Britain. ''Journal of Archaeological Science'', 1(2), pp.151-175.</ref> ruled out the existence of a true greyhound-type in Britain prior to the Roman occupation, which was further confirmed in 2000.<ref>Clark, K.M., 2000. Dogged persistence: the phenomenon of canine skeletal uniformity in British prehistory. ''BAR International Series'', 889, pp.163-170.</ref> Written evidence from the early period of Roman occupation, the [[Vindolanda tablets]] (No. 594), demonstrate that the occupying troops from Continental Europe either had with them in the North of England, or certainly knew of, the vertragus and its hunting use.<ref>Bowman, Alan K; Thomas, J David (2003). ''The Vindolanda writing-tablets (Tabulae Vindolandenses III)''. British Museum Press. {{ISBN|978-0-7141-2249-6}}.</ref>

During the [[Middle Ages]], greyhounds could only be owned by rulers and nobles, having long been associated with heraldic symbols of the ruling class in England, France, and the [[Czech Republic|Czech]] lands.<ref name=remains/>

The earliest archaeological discovery found conclusively to be a greyhound specifically was at the [[Chotěbuz]] fort in the [[Czech Republic]]. This comprised sighthound type "gracile" bones dating from the 8th to 9th century AD.  These bones matched those of a {{cvt|70|cm}} high "greyhound", and were also genetically compared with the modern Greyhound and other sighthounds, and found to be almost completely identical with the modern Greyhound breed, with the exception of only four deletions and one substitution in the DNA sequences, which were interpreted as differences probably arising from 11 centuries of breeding of this type of dog.<ref name=remains/>

All modern pedigree Greyhounds derive from the Greyhound stock recorded and registered first in private studbooks in the 18th century, then in public studbooks in the 19th century, which ultimately were registered with coursing, racing, and kennel club authorities of the United Kingdom.<ref>''The Greyhound and the Hare: A history of the breed and the sport'' Charles Blanning, The National Coursing Club, 2018</ref> Historically, these [[sighthound]]s were used primarily for hunting in the open where their pursuit speed and keen [[eyesight]] were essential.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
[[File:St Guinefort.jpg|thumb|Contemporary illustration of [[Saint Guinefort]], a greyhound sainted by people in the Dombes region of France around the 13th century]]