Pastor Course

The shepherd in the most proper sense is the one who looks after the livestock, generally a flock of sheep. Pastoralism is one of the oldest existing professions, with its first attestations in Anatolia around 4000 BC. In the past they mainly raised sheep because they were a source of meat, milk and wool. Pastoralism is widespread throughout Eurasia. Among the duties of the shepherd is to keep their flock intact and protected from predators, such as wolves and foxes. He must also check the best time to shear and put the wool on the market and milk the animals often, in order to obtain the milk. Some shepherds, with the milk obtained, produce some derivatives, including cheese. Particularly in the past, shepherds were an important part of the economy. Unlike other herders and farmers, some shepherds also looked after the flocks of others and were hired. In some societies the shepherds were single men, young men who wanted to avoid military service or the children of farmers who had received nothing as an inheritance. In others, however, for each family there was a pastor, a young man or an elder who could not have done tougher jobs. In some cases the shepherds gathered in groups, merging their flocks and sharing the responsibilities. In these communities many had to live in small shacks. Pastoralism developed only in certain areas. In the plains and river valleys it was much cheaper to grow wheat, so sheep farming moved to rocky areas. Before the beginning of the modern age, herding was mainly concentrated in Palestine, Greece, the Pyrenees and Scotland. But also in the rest of the world it has always been practiced, for example especially in Sardinia.